


Is There a Doctor in the House?

by DJH1950



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: AU, Gen, Root slightly OOC, Shaw slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-01-29 09:37:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 58,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12628122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJH1950/pseuds/DJH1950
Summary: AU- what if Shaw became a doctor, missed the AI apocalypse, but then was recruited by Root to join Team Machine?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! There will be angst during this story, however as most of you who've read my previous works know, I can't seem to conceive of a universe (even an AU) where Root and Shaw don't end up together.
> 
> Also- Special thanks to T_Ninja, whose works here are simply awesome, for her encouragement and help getting this story to work. I can't tell you how much it means. And anyone who hasn't read her work, read it, you are in for a treat!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/T_Ninja/pseuds/T_Ninja

Shaw was standing at the bar when she spotted the lady in red. The floor length dress couldn't hide the legs that went on forever. Her pale skin contrasted with the scarlet dress and the bright red lipstick finished the look.

She stood in the entrance to the ballroom like a queen surveying her subjects. Her eyes drifted toward the bar, slid over Shaw in passing, then snapped back, focusing laser like on the tiny Persian.

Shaw was wearing a skimpy black number that ended six inches above her knee. She looked good and she knew it. From the predatory look the beauty in red was giving her, she knew it too.

As the tall dark haired lady leered, a gorgeous blonde in a black tux that accented her curves sidled up to the object of Shaw’s interest, offered her arm and led as the pair moved through the throngs who were gathered for TME Corporation’s Christmas Party.

Irritated with herself at the stab of disappointment that both surprised and annoyed, Shaw knocked back her scotch and looked around at the setting. She couldn’t believe she’d let Lambert talk her into showing up at this, no matter TME’s $5 million dollar gift to the hospital.

_You’re the top ER Attending we’ve got, doctor- you’ll be there and like it. Don’t make me guilt you into it by reminding you of the way you broke up with me._

_Fine, Jeremy, but the food better be damn good and the drinks better be on you._

The drinks ended up being free and the liquor was high quality, Shaw had to give the corporation credit for that. The menu looked promising, filet mignon, roasted red potatoes and grilled asparagus would follow a spinach salad.

Was her withholding judgement her way of digging in her heels at Jeremy’s insistence she attend the party? It was petty, she had to admit; and there was the nagging question in the back of her mind- _am I just mad that I can't get her out of my head?_

Shaw glanced surreptitiously around the room. It was like she'd suddenly developed sonar, pinging on the beauty anywhere she roamed in the room. The tall dark haired woman seemed to have her own directional finder, checking on Shaw almost every time Shaw’s eyes fell on her.

Of the 250 attendees, to Shaw the lady in red was the only one in the room.

And it pissed her off.

….

Shaw turned toward the center table briefly observing the woman she’d been thinking about since she first saw her. Once again, their eyes met and Shaw, felt a tingle coarse through her. She turned back to Lambert and leaned over.

“So who’s the woman in the red dress at the host table?”

“Goes by Root, her real name seems to have been scrubbed- at least to the public. She’s interim CEO of TME as it’s founder is off in Europe on some extended vacation… rumor is it’s a permanent vacation but the lady has kept the interim title for the past six months.

“What’s it to you, doctor?”

Shaw leaned over and grabbed her drink.

“Nothing special, she just seemed to be someone important from the way everybody seemed to kowtow to her.”

She hoped the burning in her ears wasn’t noticeable. Tossing back the glass, she was disappointed to realize it had been emptied earlier. She got to her feet and headed toward the bar.

“Be right back. Need a refill?”

“Another drink Shaw? Thought you’d be chomping at the bit to get out of here now that dinner’s finished.”

“Look Lambert, you dragged me here… I get it, these people dropped a large check on you and the hospital. You know I don’t do this shit, but as you so eloquently put it I owed you. Now that I’m here the least you can do is let me drink in peace.

“You want another one or not?”

“I’m good, Shaw… and you know, if you want to go it’s OK. You’ve done your duty. You didn’t want to ride together and I figured you’d be out of here as soon as you could. I appreciate you coming without me having to beg and I’ll see you Monday.”

Shaw nodded and headed for the exit. One more glance at the head table left her vaguely disappointed. The lady in the red dress was gone, and a quick glance around the room yielded no results.

_Just as well, Shaw.. she looked like trouble and she was with somebody._

Skipping the bar, she headed for the coat room to claim her jacket. Her phone was in her hand and the Uber app was just loading when a voice cut through her reverie.

“Excuse me miss, can I speak to you for a minute?”

Shaw looked up and her eyes widened. The blonde in the tux was standing next to her, a sad smile playing across her face. Shaw tilted her head, frowning.

“You’re the one who was with that CEO lady, aren’t you? What do you want?”

“My employer would appreciate a few minutes of your time. Come with me please.”

Without seeing if Shaw would follow, the tuxedoed lady turned and headed for a bank of elevators. Shaw, intrigued despite herself, thought _what the hell?_ and waved off the coat check attendant. She reached the blonde just as she was pulling a gold edged card from her pocket.

“Private elevator to the Penthouse Suite.”

The door slid open, revealing a six-sided lift whose back three panels were floor to ceiling glass. As they entered, the lady in the tux slipped the card in a slot and the door closed and they began to rise.

Outside the elevator, the four story atrium was visible out the glass panels. As the lift continued its ascent, the atrium was gone as it passed through the ceiling and emerged with a view of the New York skyline. Forty to fifty floors later, the elevator slowed and a soft chime announced their arrival.

The doctor followed the woman into a two story entrance hall that was designed to disarm and impress. Shaw didn’t do impressed nor disarmed, but she did do curious.

“So what’s the point here? Why did you drag me up here when any conversation could have been done at the bar?”

A voice came from near the floor to ceiling windows that revealed the city’s lights and buildings interrupted only by the dark rectangle that was Central Park. Shaw glanced over and there she was- still in the red dress…

_Admit it Shaw, she’s hot._

“Wanted us to have some privacy.”

And holding up a glass of amber liquid. She smiled, the predatory look returning.  
“Drink?”

Shaw shrugged and approached. Taking the glass from the taller woman, she became aware of an appealing scent, a mixture of floral and fruit with just a touch of whiskey. Shaw looked up into the woman’s eyes and stared, her masked expression poorly hiding a quickening of her pulse.

She took a tentative sip.

 _Holy shit, this is good_.

“OK lady, your choice of Scotch is beyond reproach, I’ll grant you that. But what gives? You could have come over yourself and asked, but you sent your date over which leaves me feeling like I’ve been summoned rather than approached.”

The lady in red blushed faintly, then recovered.

“But you’re here.”

“Don’t make a big deal out of it. I’m all dressed up with no place to go. Lambert dragged me here because he’s my boss, I owe him a favor and your company dropped a big check on the hospital I work at.

“Curiosity with a side of boredom. Don’t think it’s anything more.”

Shaw hoped her face didn’t give lie to her words. She was interested, more than she’d want to admit to the tall gorgeous woman…. or herself. She took another sip of the whiskey.

“I will admit this is some good stuff. Tastes like Macallan.”

The woman in red smiled and nodded.

“Very good, it _is_ Macallan, 1924 to be exact. Not the most expensive Scotch in the world, but for most people one of the best. Besides, your only paying for the contents, not some fancy glass container that just makes some pretentious asshole puff out his chest and say,

“‘Look what I can buy.’”

Shaw smirked over her glass.

“No offense lady, but the way they were fawning over you down there, and the way you acted like a queen receiving her court, some might think you’re the pretentious asshole.”

The woman threw back her head in a genuine laugh.

“Oh God, sweetie, that’s the most refreshingly honest thing I’ve heard today. And I just confirms my impression of you.

“And please, call me Root.”


	2. Chapter 2

Shaw glanced over at the CEO then walked over to the window. She took in the spectacular view before turning on her hostess. Raising her glass to her lips, Shaw took a healthy hit of the expensive Scotch, then licked her lips as she held Root’s gaze with a predatory look of her own.

“You still haven't told me why you had your girlfriend bring me up here. I don't play games lady so I'd appreciate it if you could cut to the chase.

“What do you want?”

The woman in red smirked, eyes sparkling.

“I wanted to get to know you some. I know so much about you but don't _know_ you.”

Shaw’s defenses went up and alarm bells were ringing in the back of her mind. She decided this whole thing was just a little too weird for her. She walked over to the bar, finished the whiskey in one drink and set the glass down on the polished wood hard enough to cause her hostess to start.

“Thanks but no thanks lady. Call your girlfriend and tell her you’re free. I'm out of here.”

Root’s smile widened as if Shaw had complimented her on her dress, her party and her digs. She walked over to Shaw and placed her hand on the shorter woman's arm. She slid Shaw's glass away and gently refilled it.

“Relax sweetie. Frankie went back downstairs and she has both keys. The only way for you to get out of here until she comes back is to call the front desk and tell them I'm holding you hostage. And I don't think they'll believe you- my reputation is actually pretty good, all things considered.

“And by the way, Frankie’s not my girlfriend, though in all honesty she probably wishes she could be. She's my executive assistant and while she might be in love with me, she knows I don't feel the same about her so she made a decision quite a while ago to be my friend.

“And she's not only a good friend, she's an _excellent_ executive assistant. So when she knew I wanted to spend some time getting to know you, she delivered you and gave us space so we could bond.”

Shaw shook her head back and forth slowly while she considered her options. The woman was hot, the whiskey smooth and the view spectacular- she might as well enjoy the time. Plus there was the fact that she refused to appear rattled in front of a stranger- any stranger.

And especially this one who'd already done more to work her way under Shaw's skin than just about anyone since Cole died. She smiled coldly and picked up her glass again.

“Your place, your whiskey- I guess I'll just enjoy.”

She took another long drink. Then, curiosity got the best of her.

“You said you know so much about me. I have to admit I'm wondering how and why.”

Root gazed into the petite Persian’s eyes for an uncomfortably long time. Her expression gradually went from the predatory leer she'd been employing much of the evening to plaintive, almost soft. She took a deep breath.

“Our company does things most people would believe impossible and many would view as questionable. I've been involved with TME just over four years and I've seen things even someone with your experience would find hard to believe.”

“What do you know about my experience lady? Even Lambert doesn't know most of my story.”

As the words left Shaw’s mouth she wondered what she was doing opening up to this lady who, while unquestionably attractive, appeared to have delusions of grandeur thinking she knew Shaw’s history.

There was so much of it buried deep in DOD computers never to see the light of day. Shaw shook her head at her hostess’ arrogance and assumptions.

Root's face softened even more as she reached once again for the doctor’s hand.

“Sameen, I know some of this will come as a shock to you, but I know almost _everything_ about you. What I don't know is _you_ and that's what I'd like to accomplish tonight and possibly again sometime in the near future. I am going to tell you what I know and finally try to answer the why part of your question”

Shaw rolled her eyes, then waved her hand.

“Go ahead, but you'll have to go some to impress me with your knowledge about me.

“Wait a minute!

“Did you just call me Sameen? How the hell do you know my name? Even the hospital staff only knows me as Shaw. Only Lambert and HR know my given name and in the last few years only a handful of people knew it. Who the hell are you?”

Root smiled again.

“I suppose a little background on me would help before I tell you what I know about you that will surprise you. It may go a long way toward helping you deal with how much I actually do know about you.

“I grew up in a small town in East Texas. Never knew my dad and my mom was the town drunk. She died when I was sixteen but by then I was making pretty decent money as a hacker for hire. I also did some things way worse than hacking but I'm not going to go there.

“By the time she died I had already hacked the records and given myself an extra two years so I could simply leave without the hassle of getting myself emancipated. I left the state and never looked back coming here years ago.

“For almost fifteen years I hacked and did even worse for a living. Several years ago I met a few people who helped me turn the page on my somewhat questionable activities and gave me a purpose, a calling even.

“Our original founder and CEO developed a supercomputer program that was basically Artificial Intelligence- a living thinking virtual being. I became her Analogue Interface- she communicated directly with me knowing that I loved and worshipped her.”

Root’s eyes took on a distant look, bittersweet as if remembering a lost love.

“You see, her creator wanted her to save the world from threats She divided into two categories-Relevant and Irrelevant. The Irrelevant were only threatened by or threats to ordinary citizens. The Relevant threats were actual threats to the nation.

“I was tasked with some of the Relevant threats while some of my associates were assigned the Irrelevant area. They did the heavy lifting actually getting their hands dirty helping those threatened and removing the threats themselves in many cases.

“I worked the Relevant threats but much of my time was spent ensuring the proper agencies were apprised of threats and were dealing with them. I had a few exciting operations but generally was coding and hacking for a good cause rather than simply for the highest bidder.

“A little more than eighteen months ago our AI was confronted with the existence of a rival AI that threatened both our AI’s existence and, quite frankly, human liberty. The rival, named Samaritan, tried to destroy our AI so it could have free reign to impose order on humans.

“For almost a year we went on the run, hiding from Samaritan while we worked to develop a counterattack. Our founder and I, with the Machine’s help- that’s what he named her, I would have given her a more eloquent title- developed a way to destroy Samaritan. But the war would be won at a cost.

“The virus that destroyed Samaritan also destroyed our own AI… except for her core code which we had protected. One of our team almost died uploading and protecting the virus until it could be deployed. Our founder was very close to him and when John almost died, it broke Harold’s spirit.

“He felt he had put enough people in enough danger that he needed to get away. He wanted to quit altogether, but I convinced him to take a leave of absence for at least a year before he decided anything permanently. That’s why I’m interim CEO and why I hope I never get promoted to the job.

“After he left, I set to rebuilding Her with the core code we had saved. It took several weeks but finally succeeded. We managed to restore Her essence and once She was complete, began working numbers again- that’s how She communicates threats to us Social Security numbers or Identification numbers from other countries.

“The Machine literally has access to information world-wide, public and private. It sifts through that information and finds threats to both relevant and irrelevant numbers to this day. Our company works with governments around the world, totally off the books, to eliminate threats by stopping them before they can do any damage.

“It also continues to work to neutralize threats on the Irrelevant side, whether the numbers it dispenses are threatened or the threats themselves. We have teams all over the world that work with and around officials to ensure the threats don’t come to fruition. There’s a lot more I could tell you, but much of it you wouldn’t believe without proof.

“So I’ll tell you a little about yourself, some public knowledge, some not so public and some that may shock you to know it can be discovered.”


	3. Chapter 3

Shaw’s mind was racing as she processed what Root had revealed. She looked down and realized her glass was again empty. While she didn’t believe much of what the hacker had just explained to her, she was intrigued enough to want to hear more. She looked over at the woman and indicated her empty glass.

“Got any more?”

Root smiled genuinely, possibly for the first time since Shaw laid eyes on her downstairs. There was also something in her eyes that Shaw had trouble defining, but knew she’d seen before. As the hacker refilled Shaw’s glass and put a splash in her own, it hit the doctor.

_She’s got the hots for me, or at least thinks she does._

Shaw filed the nugget in the back of her mind for the immediate future. Whether she decided to take advantage of the knowledge to either manipulate her way out, or possibly manipulate her way in deeper depended on the next few minutes. As she looked deeper into the hacker’s eyes, she realized there was more going on in Root’s mind as well.

_I’d better watch my step with this one._

Root nodded at the conversation pit that faced the windows.

“Let’s sit over there where we can be more comfortable.”

The pair walked over to two comfortable chairs separated by a small table that faced the windows. Root indicated Shaw should sit and, after a brief moment’s hesitation to prove she wasn’t going to just obey ( _yes, petty, I know_ ), she took a seat, then nodded at the hacker.

“So you’ve got a story for me, I might as well hear it.”

Root smiled over her glass, sipped, then set it down. She leaned forward and placed her left hand on Shaw’s right knee. As the doctor looked down, frowned then looked up into the hacker’s eyes, Root gave a gentle squeeze, then removed her hand, leaving behind more heat than Shaw wanted to admit.

“Please understand, Sameen, I have no desire to use this against you in _any_ way. I hope everything will become clear before you leave here tonight, but I need you to know the information I’ve gathered on you is only known to me and the entity that gathered it.”

“Entity?”

“Some of this is available through relatively simple digging, however, you’re going to be shocked at some of the things I know and I want you to understand I’m the only person who will ever have access to this information, and that I will never share it with anyone, ever.

“But I believe you need to be convinced I’m telling you the truth. And that it’s not the ravings of some lunatic, but the unvarnished truth. And revealing things about you that you believe are buried so deep in Defense Department computers as to be impossible to dig up should help.

“And before you freak, there’s even more, some of which you may think is impossible for anyone to know. But I should start at the beginning.”

Shaw waved at her to continue.

“October 2, 1988- you were on your way to watch the Houston Oilers play the Philadelphia Eagles with your father when there was an accident. Tragically your father was killed and when you were told about his passing, you said, ‘Can I have a sandwich?’ The EMT’s flagged you as in shock, but it turned out you have an Axis II Personality Disorder, at least that’s what you believe.

“You cruised through high school in three years, undergrad in three more and only three and a half years of medical school. Two years into your residency you were dismissed from the program after being told your possible personality disorder disqualified you from becoming a physician because you lacked compassion.

“At 25, you joined the Marines where you were finally recruited to join an little known branch of intelligence, the ISA. As an ISA assassin, you spent four years successfully eliminating threats real and perceived to the government. You also met Michael Cole who became your partner until he died taking a bullet for you in Yemen.

“He may be the only person you’ve ever come close to loving since your father’s death. The two of you became intimate within weeks of your being paired and the affair lasted until his death. After he died, you spent three months working solo until an operation blew up in everyones’ faces in Libya.

“When your intel proved bad, you attempted to go in and rescue a team of Seals sent to retrieve a kidnapped diplomat that had already been murdered and the intel compromised to make it appear he was being held captive in a certain village. It didn’t go well.

“You helped the Seals fend off the attack, however three were injured critically. After you provided field medical treatment that saved their lives, the resulting debriefs reopened the possibility of a medical career for you.

“DOD offered to get you into a residency program that wouldn’t dismiss you out of hand for any lack of people skills as a reward for service to your country. Cole’s death affected you more than you were willing to admit to anyone, including possibly yourself, and you decided another change of scenery would be appropriate.

“You finished your residency here and decided Emergency Medicine was the field best suited to your particular skillset. You’ve thrived at Mercy General for the last five years working your way to the top of the food chain there.”

Shaw listened, face impassive as the private details of her life were revealed. Her mind however was racing as she considered the implications of the information the hacker had gathered on her. Her thoughts went back to some of her ISA training as she sought to put a logical explanation on the secrets she thought were buried being revealed as if they were public knowledge.

“With the right search engines, most of this stuff could theoretically be revealed by sophisticated enough software. While impressive, it doesn’t really rise to the level of an all seeing artificial intelligence. Sorry, but I don’t buy it.”

Her calm demeanor may or may not have covered the battle going on inside of her for control as secrets she thought successfully buried were exposed as matter-of-factly as if reading a job seeker’s resume. Root watched her thoughtfully before she nodded once and continued.

“Fair enough, let’s see if this will convince you. Once again please remember I’m not telling you these things with any intention of ever using this information to in any way harm you. I’m just trying to convince you that what I’ve told you is real.

“As I said, you’ve been at Mercy General for five years. Three years ago, you and the Director, Jeremy Lambert began an affair that lasted just over eighteen months. The affair itself wasn’t that interesting, but the reason you ended it is.”

Shaw’s stomach began to churn.

“What the hell are you talking about? What we discussed when we broke up was said in private and Lambert swore he’d never say a word.”

Root smiled sadly.

“Sameen, there’s no such thing as ‘in private’ anymore. Anything said within reach of a the mic on a smart phone, a tablet or a computer can be picked up and, once it’s picked up, it never really goes away.”

Root walked over to the bar, retrieved her laptop and returned.

“Listen.”

The hacker played with the controls and Shaw heard voices through the speakers. The quality was less than perfect but she could recognize her voice and Lambert’s.

_Shaw: Jeremy we’re done, I can’t do this anymore. I had a three times and done rule, violated it with someone in my past, and did it again with you. I thought I had feelings for you, but quite frankly, those have disappeared gradually until there’s nothing left._

_Lambert: Shaw don’t do this, give me another chance. I know that I’ve balked at some of the things you’ve wanted to do, but I’ll try- honest I’ll try. I’ll even use the cuffs on you if you want. Just please don’t make me hit you…. I just don’t have it in me._

_Shaw: Look Jeremy, the feelings I hoped I’d develop for you just haven’t appeared. I like you, but that’s it. And the sex, well quite frankly, you’re just too vanilla for me._

_Lambert: But Shaw…._

“OK Root, that’s enough. What the hell, is your little computer program everywhere?”

Root smiled at her.

“Somedays it even surprises me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Shaw stared at the hacker for several long moments. Her mind was racing but she was determined not to say anything more until she had her wits about her. Finally, she regained enough composure to settle herself and the obvious question spilled out.

“So you’ve done all you could to prove this wild story of yours is true, and I have to admit it’s pretty convincing. But it all begs the question, why? Why did you go to all this trouble to convince me of your ‘Machine’s’ existence, its omnipresence and its history?

“Why me? Who am I to you?”

Root smiled at the doctor, sadness filling her eyes. Or maybe it was something else… memories maybe? She appeared to be on the brink of tearing up, then shook her head and regained her composure.

“For the answer to that I need to go back in time a little less than a year. As our war with Samaritan was reaching critical mass, we knew we were running out of time to fight back. Harold and I came up with a virus, called Ice-9 which would destroy Samaritan and every server and computer in its network.

“However, three things were needed for it to destroy the other AI. First the Machine needed to have the virus ready to go and we needed to have a way to resurrect Her after the virus had done it’s job. The virus was set to land in every server Samaritan existed in, how it got into them is pretty technical and would take all day and then some to explain.

“The problem was it would destroy every bit of coding that related to Artificial Intelligence, meaning it was going to destroy the Machine as well. We shrunk and compressed her core code, her DNA so to speak, into dozens of gaming consoles we had not only hidden, but protected by a Faraday Cage.

“We were running out of time. Harold and I spent almost two days between arming Her with the virus and loading her core into the consoles. The second thing that was needed was a way in to be able to access Samaritan’s network of servers. The only way we could upload the virus was through an actual server farm.

“The way they were guarded, we knew we needed an assault team and both Harold and I needed to be there. If anything happened to either of us, the other could finish uploading the virus. So the Machine located the optimum server farm, one that was located in a relatively quiet area where the assault would only get their security involved.

“We found one in the warehouse district just over the river in Jersey. Once located, we needed to completely ignore it until the assault so Samaritan and its minions wouldn’t be tipped and send in reinforcements. We would hit them pretty much in the middle of the night when they’d be at minimal strength and the guards would be at their least effective.

“Which left the final thing required. Access codes to let the virus into Samaritan so it could do its thing. We identified the person most likely to crack with the right pressure. One of its inner circle was a Nevada congressman, who steered the initial funding for Samaritan into the right hands from an appropriations bill for Homeland Security.”

Root stared over at the doctor, then reached for her glass. She took a large drink of the whiskey, sighed and put the glass down. Her eyes were guarded as she took up the narrative.

“We kidnapped his son, nine years old. When a team we sent to break into his apartment took him hostage, we set up a feed to the place we were holding his son. We offered a trade: his son’s life for the access codes to Samaritan. We knew he’d be resistant to threats, so we came up with a simple illusion.

“We set up a room to look like a clinic examining room. His son was strapped to a gurney with a sheet covering most of his body. We left the sheet with his hands and feet sticking out. Once our target was secured, we set up a video feed to the room where his son was being held captive.

“It was a straightforward offer, his son’s life for the codes. We did inform him that his son’s death would be painful and traumatic, _and that he’d get to witness it_ if he didn’t give up the codes _._ I can be quite convincing when I need to be, so I put on my best ‘bat-shit crazy’ face and got right in his grill.

“‘Look, we don’t have much time here so you need to know we’re serious. I’m giving you one shot, then I’m off to another target… Show the man how serious we are.’

“A masked man came in view of the camera holding a hatchet. He raised it over his head and with force and precision brought in down on the left wrist of the boy, severing his hand. As the boy wailed, straining against the restraints, I looked back at the congressman who was sobbing and begging.

“‘I’m leaving now, unless you have something to tell me. They will remove several body parts until your son bleeds out in front of your eyes. As I said, I’m on the clock and have to go try and persuade one of your colleagues to cooperate if I don’t get those codes now. If you do give up the codes, I’ll have him delivered to a hospital where they may still be able to reattach the hand… it’s up to you.’

“Of course, we hadn’t cut the kid’s hand off, just used some imagination, some special effects and a small taser on his left arm, which was not what the boy’s dad saw butchered. Cadaver hand and a little imagination goes a long way.. and it worked. Our hostage gave up the codes and we were on our way to the server farm.

“Unfortunately, we had to insure total destruction, so we not only had to take out Samaritan, but the entire upper echelon. Any of the true believers, if left alive, would undoubtedly try to rebuild the AI… and success was possible if left to their own devices.

“We decided to leave the congressman alive, but incapacitated for at least 24 hours. Drugged and zip-tied, we left him in his apartment and headed to New Jersey. Our team made it in with little resistance and in less than an hour we were on our way out the door of the warehouse that hid the server farm.

“We were close to breathing easily as our team headed away from the building to our two SUV’s. That’s when it hit the fan. We were ambushed by several of Samaritan’s soldiers and the Machine let me know Harold was about to be killed by a sniper from across the parking lot. I did the only thing I could think of and wrapped my arms around him trying to get him to the ground.”

The hacker stopped again, this time tears were shining in her eyes. Another sip of her Scotch and she continued.

“I’ll never forget the feeling of being shot…. it really burns.. but you know that. Then everything went numb so when the second bullet hit the only thing I felt was the impact, like someone had punched me in the back. I remember going down, I remember several faces looking down at me, including Harry, thank God, who was OK. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t talk and I was beginning to lose consciousness.

“The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital. I hurt, shit, did I hurt, but I was alive. I was certain, as I looked up at those faces in the parking lot that I was dying, I wanted so much to tell Harry and some of the others things, things I hadn’t said. Harold told me later I said one thing before I lost consciousness.

“‘Save Her Harry and it will be OK if I don’t make it.’”

Root once again took a drink from her glass. Shaw, moved more than she would ever admit, went to the bar, grabbed the bottle and poured them both another couple of fingers. They pair sat staring out the window for a minute or two. The doctor, lump in her throat, cleared it and looked over at the Hacker.

“I remember. You were DOA when you came in. It was around 5:30AM, my shift wasn’t supposed to start until 6:00. I woke up early that morning, around 4AM and couldn’t sleep so I ran the five miles to work, showered there and slipped on some scrubs. I had just grabbed a cup of coffee when we got the call.

“GSW to upper thoracic and kidney. Not coming in by ambulance. I remember thinking it was a gang banger and I’d just be wasting time, even if they survived, they’d be back within weeks, months or years. Then the doors to the ER flew open and one of the strangest sights I’ve seen since I left Afghanistan came flying through the door.

“They must have left a gurney outside because your team had commandeered it and put you on for the fifty feet from the car to the door. They had you wrapped in blankets and you were wearing a black stocking hat. I never saw you without it until tonight. You were dead, so white I almost drew the sheet over your head.

“But I swear, and I’ve never told anybody about this because I didn’t think they’d believe me, when I checked for a pulse there was none, I checked your pupils and they were unresponsive- you were dead. I looked over at your friend, I’m guessing it’s the Harold you were talking about, and shook my head.

“He looked so distraught. He said something about you saving his life. I couldn’t just cover you up and walk away… which is really weird because I’m kind of known in the ER for doing things just like that. I did something I never do, I reached down and took your hand.”

At this point, Shaw’s eyes misted.

“I swear to God, you were dead, stick a fork in you, done. But when I reached down and took your hand… you squeezed mine. At first I ignored it, thinking it was a simple post mortem tremor caused by the brain shutting down. Then you did it again. I looked down at my hand on yours, changed position… and you did it a third time.

“When I said we needed a crash cart the staff looked at me like I was nuts. The second shock started your heart again. But you had lost a ton of blood and were going from dead to barely alive to falling into shock. The staff thought the bullet had hit an artery, but I had seen wounds like this before in the field over there and I was pretty sure what had happened.

“The bullet that went in the upper thoracic had sheared off a piece of one of your ribs. That piece had punctured your lung and blood was collecting in it. We had to drain the blood, fix the lung and make sure no other major arteries or vessels had been hit. I sent you up and almost miraculously the best trauma surgeon we had had just finished up with a car crash. He took you immediately, repaired the damage and all I ever heard was that you had survived.

“You see one of the reasons I couldn’t sleep that morning was that was my last day there for a week. I was leaving for Chicago, to train and evaluate residents at our sister hospital. It was a new thing for me and I wasn’t thrilled about it. I woke up thinking about what I needed to do and what I needed to pack that night.

“The whole day was a blur, after you there was a pregnant woman who’d been shot in the abdomen by a crazy boyfriend, two serious construction accidents and some other craziness. By the time I walked out of the hospital, the incident with you had faded into the background of the normal craziness of a busy day.

“I had to race home, pack and get to the airport by 7:30. I remembered your case on the way to the airport, called and was told you’d survived. I thought there was a good chance you’d still be there when I returned, a week later, but it turned out you checked yourself out within four days.”

Root smirked at the doctor.

“I hate hospitals.”

“Whatever… by the time I came back and asked, you were gone and weirdly the records of your case had been lost by Admin. Now I’m thinking, you and your friend might have had something to do with those missing records.”

The hacker looked over her glass at her guest.

“I’ll never tell.”

Shaw took another drink, glanced over at Root and put her glass down.

“So you brought me up here to tell me this story out of some weird sense of gratitude?”

Root smiled and shook her head.

“While I am grateful, I didn’t go through all this to thank you. As I tried to explain to you, I know a great deal about you, Dr. Sameen Shaw. I’ve created a file on you, and I have to say I’m a big fan. While saving my life is something that put me in your debt, it simply started me investigating. What I found led to this.

“Now that we’ve eliminated Samaritan as a threat, we’ve gone back to working numbers, both relevant and non. TME has added teams around the world. While most are still undergoing some highly intense training, some are already out there dealing with the numbers which come in fairly impressive quantities daily.

“There are few people out there who have the abilities that you have, Dr. Shaw. You’ve practiced emergency medicine for several years inside a pressure cooker environment that would have sent most doctors packing. The fact that you’ve stuck around is a testament to your dedication to saving lives.

“I’d like to offer an opportunity to save lives that don’t even know they need saving. Most of our numbers are blissfully unaware of the danger that’s out there waiting for them. They’ve made choices that seemed necessary and logical that have targeted them due to no fault of their own.

“We can and in many cases do prevent anything bad happening to those folks. Some never even know we’ve saved them, our elimination of the threat done from far away. Some do see the threat up close and are saved at the last second. A few we reach after they’ve been attacked and they need medical attention to save their life.”

Shaw leaned forward, a frown on her face.

“You want me to leave a busy ER and be your on call physician? No offense but as noble as what you describe sounds, it would bore me beyond belief.”

Root smiled almost adoringly at the doctor.

“I’m sorry, Sameen, I didn’t mean to imply I wanted you to be our doctor. We have a doctor, an excellent one name of Megan Tillman- her number came up years ago. We persuaded her to let us take care of the revenge she had planned, which would have cost her a promising medical career.

“We set her up in a private medical clinic in the inner city- what looks like and functions as a free clinic for those who can’t afford insurance or medical care also serves as our own ER. She takes care of the indigent during the day and injured numbers and assets as the need arises.

“No doctor, what I’m offering is way more exciting than that. It’s an opportunity to get back in the field, save the innocent and stop the guilty. You’ll probably get to shoot a few people along the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to post the first four chapters ASAP since I believe they set the stage for this adventure. It's not finished, so I will be updating as soon as it's feasible. I hope these chapters pique your interest.
> 
> Once again, Thanks to T_Ninja for her help! Read her stuff!!
> 
> Also, please let me know what you think. Comments spur my creativity.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter setting up what's coming. There will be another chapter in a day or so.

Root stood and picked up the laptop and headed for the bar. Setting it down, she turned once again toward the doctor who’d saved her life almost a year ago.

“We want you to come to work for TME as an asset. One who is willing to get their hands dirty helping people in a slightly less sterile environment than an emergency room. The adrenaline rush is incredible, but you already know that. The difference between what you did in ISA and what you’d be doing here is that you’ll know with a certainty that the people you’re stopping are the bad guys, as opposed to simply threats to a nebulous national interest.

“Quite frankly, the pay is less than in the medical profession, but the benefits are amazing. Last week I got on a plane Monday afternoon, spent Tuesday stopping an attack on a nuclear power plant in Sweden, stopped in Athens Wednesday to help break up a terrorist cell planning to assassinate the Prime Minister, and went to South Africa on Thursday where a member of Parliament was targeted by a child sex trafficking ring for daring to try to protect kids from predators.

“By Friday I needed a day off so I flew into Brisbane and hopped a commuter plane to get to Arlie Beach where I spent an afternoon snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef. Then I had to get back to work, Saturday we stopped a drug smuggling operation that was blackmailing a Japanese prosecutor trying to stem the tide of heroin and other illegal drugs in his country.

“It took almost 24 hours to get back here and I made it with only 12 hours to spare for this party. I’m still suffering from jet lag, but, oh Sam, the adrenaline rush, believe me, there’s nothing like it. I think you’ll find you would be perfect for it, and it would be perfect for you.”

Shaw stared at the tall hacker, speechless.

_WTF! She wants you to go back to the work you were doing when they finally let you be a doctor. Granted, it sounds exciting, but isn’t that what you were so eager to give up for your dream of becoming a physician? And are you seriously thinking about this? This is not you, Shaw, your the one who makes decisions clinically, without emotion._

_Then what’s the feeling in the pit of your stomach? Fear? Excitement?_

_Are you seriously thinking about this?_

Shaw shook her head, thinking rapidly.

“This is all a little sudden, I don’t know if it’s for me. First, you apparently know how tough it was for me to finally become a doctor. Second, you should know that your emotional appeal will have little affect on me ( _lie Shaw, that might be a lie_ ). Finally, there’s no way I could just drop everything and leave what I have behind on your word only.

“You’d have to prove the picture you’re painting is an accurate one.”

Root smiled again, brilliantly this time.

“Dr. Shaw, I told you I’m a big fan, and I’ve done my homework. You haven’t taken a vacation in the last year and a half, ever since you and Lambert broke up. You’ve got twenty two days of vacation coming and no intention of taking it. Christmas is still two weeks away- if you wanted, you could take the rest of the year off.

“Take some of that vacation and let me show you what the world looks like when you’re working for the Machine. I promise you will find it exhilarating. If, at the end of the year you don’t think this is perfect for you, I’ll leave you alone. But, if you do find it has the potential I’ve described, promise me you’ll at least consider coming to work for us.”

Shaw stared at the hacker, thinking.

“My schedule is set until Friday, there’s no getting past that- I can’t… I won’t leave Mercy without adequate manpower. I’ll let you know what I decide by Wednesday night, Thursday morning at the latest.

“Your offer intrigues me Root. It shouldn’t considering all I’ve been through to get here, but it does. I’m leaning toward allowing you to show me around as long as you realize I’m not committing to anything except allowing you to show me around.

“How do I get in touch?”

Root started laughing.

“Apparently, you haven’t really been listening to me…. all you have to do is look up at work- the cameras, there’s one above the nurses station in the ER. She’s always there, Shaw, and always paying attention. All you have to do is look up at Her and nod.

“Then _I’ll_ be in touch.”

….

Saturday morning a black Escalade pulled up outside of Shaw’s apartment promptly at 8:45. Five minutes later, the doctor exited her building, dressed in black jeans, white dress shirt under black vest, a pea coat and a black stocking hat. She climbed in the second row, finding Root sitting behind the driver.

The hacker smiled at the ex ISA agent, reached over and patted her arm.

“We’re going to have such a good time, Sameen.”

Shaw rolled her eyes and snorted.

“We’ll see. Where are we off to today?”

“First stop is our training center, where I’ll give you a tour of our headquarters. Then we’ll have lunch.. I hope you don’t mind I took the liberty of ordering a couple of Beatrice Lillies from Park’s Deli. Extra spicy yellow mustard, Pepperoncini and no mayo.”

Shaw glanced over at the hacker.

“You _do_ do your homework.”

Root smirked then continued.

“We’ll head to the airport. There’s a number in Kansas City that should be pretty straightforward. We’re taking the company jet and can talk more on the flight. After we take care of the number, there’s a restaurant there that serves a steak that’s better than sex. Thought you might enjoy trying it.”

“You had me at steak.”

As they continued in silence, Shaw snuck looks over at the hacker turned corporate exec. Root was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that, even with her seated, looked like they had been painted on. The jeans were accented by knee high boots that matched her dark brown leather jacket, which had fallen open revealing a purple turtleneck sweater that somehow accented, rather than covered her long neck.

Shaw found herself staring at the hacker, fascinated. Her mind traveled to thoughts of what she’d be like if they ever…

_Oh shit! She has tape of Lambert and me breaking up. She knows what…. well she knows._

Shaw’s ears burned and she worried that more of her embarrassment was painted on her face. The thought crept into the back of her head that this was a bad idea, that the tall, dark-haired beauty was someone she should run from, not go to work for.

_This always ends badly for you. You don’t need anyone Shaw… letting people in weakens you and something always happens._

Shaw looked over at Root, who was now staring at the doctor. The hacker’s eyes were expressive and Shaw didn’t like what she saw.

_She feels, she’s hot, talented and she feels… you need to stay away._

Clearing her throat, the ex ISA agent looked out her window, then back at the tall, dark-haired woman who was staring back unblinking.

“Look, I’m not sure this is such a good idea. Maybe I should just get out here and take a cab back to my place. I don’t think I thought this through and I don’t think what you’re offering is what I’m looking for right now.”

Root sat in silence, her gaze never wavering nor leaving the doctor’s face. After an uncomfortably long time, the hacker raised her eyebrows.

“Sameen, are you afraid of this… or afraid of me?”

Shaw scoffed, rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I’m not afraid of anything.” _Yes you are._ “Forget it, let’s get on with it.”

….

The warehouse was located near the Port of New York. From the outside it looked like several in the area, storage facilities with offices on the upper floors and several large doors and a loading dock where semis could drop and pick up shipments for the huge container vessels that came and went daily in the harbor.

As the pair entered the warehouse, Shaw noticed the windows were painted black, obscuring any outsider’s view of the interior. And when they passed through the entrance, which was a set of doors eight feet high and solid steel they were greeted by a second set of steel doors, slightly smaller than the first.

Root accessed the first with a card slipped into a card reader, but the second required the card, then a retinal scan. As the doors swung silently open, the pair stepped into a two story reception area, with a simple wooden desk offset slightly about ten feet past the doors. At the desk was a man dressed in a navy business suit, two computer monitors and a keyboard the only items on the desk.

He nodded at Root as the pair approached.

“Good morning Miss.”

“Blake, it’s good to see you. How are you feeling?”

“I’m almost completely recovered Miss, the stitches came out last week. Dr. Tillman says three to four weeks of PT and I’ll be ready for the field again.”

“I’m glad to hear that Blake.”

She turned to Shaw.

“Dr. Shaw, this is Blake Weston, he’s one of our top assets who got caught in the crossfire of an irrelevant number’s attack. His actions kept the number from being killed, but he took three 9mm slugs and had to undergo extensive surgery and rehab. Blake, this is Doctor Shaw, her visitor’s badge should have been printed yesterday.”

“Right here, nice to meet you doctor.”

Shaw nodded and took the badge. It was a laminated card, about 4X6 with a picture of Shaw that looked suspiciously like it had been hacked from the hospitals HR files. Under the picture was simply “Dr. Shaw.” Root, despite knowing her given name, had respected her stated desires to not share it and had left it off the badge.

Shaw knew this because the man she had been introduced to was wearing a similar badge, only instead of a red border like hers, his had a black border. On the card was his picture and the name Weston, Blake. The doctor was pleased in spite of herself. She slipped the lanyard the badge was attached to over her head and looked at the tall hacker expectantly.

Root placed a similar badge over her head- this one had a couple of differences. First and most noticeable, the badge was bright purple with a silver border. Second, below her picture was only the one word, “Root”. Shaw, curious, pointed at it.

“What’s with the fancy colors and the shiny border?”

Root looked at the doctor for a long time. Just when Shaw thought she wouldn’t get an answer, the hacker opened her mouth.

“There are certain areas that are off limits to all but five people in the organization. There are systems in place to keep intruders from being able to enter those areas. Anyone without a badge like mine will trigger the areas defenses. Don’t wander into one, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

Root leered at the doctor, who pointedly ignored it. The hacker then smirked and continued.

“The areas are clearly marked and secured, so people know to stay out.”

Shaw nodded and Root indicated she should follow. They approached a doorway and Root slid her badge through a reader. Once inside, the hacker turned to the doctor and smiled.

“You realize everything I show you today is confidential. While I’m not too concerned that you would go off and tell others, everyone who works here signs a confidentiality agreement that nothing that goes on will be shared with anyone outside the organization, including family.

“You’re used to that type of arrangement from your time in the service and the ISA. We try to take care of our members to the point that they will never consider leaking information about us, but we also have something that helps keep our inner workings under wraps.

“Anyone who tries to expose what we do would have their credibility destroyed within hours of their opening their mouths. Each of us has done things within the context of working for the Machine that would raise questions about their own behavior. Once you expose some of the actions of our assets without the knowledge of the Machine, it looks like the assets are attacking innocent citizens without provocation or cause.

“And in many cases, the evidence can be altered to expose only the assets role without revealing what the Machine has dug up, and with the proper editing, it can even be set up to look like random attacks on the innocent.

“We hope to never use Her that way, however it’s there as a last resort. The plan is, if we ever have an asset that decides to leave on questionable terms, that they can be encouraged to keep the activities of TME confidential for everyone’s benefit.”

Shaw rolled her eyes.

“You mean bribing them to keep quiet.”

“Sameen, you put that so harshly… let’s just say we believe we can come to an agreement that will satisfy both parties. So far, the issue has only come up once, during training, and the potential asset simply decided it was way too intense for them, and wanted out. There was no problem reaching terms agreeable to us both.”

The tour was brief, but impressive. The entire building was five stories, nearly 100,000 square feet of training facility, conference rooms, offices and everything one would find in a large corporate headquarters. Less than ninety minutes after entering, the pair was back in the SUV headed for Teterboro Airport, just across the river.

“I hope you don’t mind, we’ll eat on the plane, the sandwiches are being delivered to it in about ten minutes.”

Shaw shrugged.

“It’s your party.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was a day or so late in coming. Computer issues. I think I've solved them, but will try to post another as soon as I can. Thanks for reading, any comments fuel me.

Root and Shaw weren’t the only passengers on the flight. As they boarded, Two women were sitting in leather recliners directly to the right of the pair as they boarded. Shaw recognized one, the woman who had accompanied Root to the party and caught up with her before she left.

_Frankie, Root said her name was Frankie._

Shaw nodded, and the blonde smiled guardedly back at her. Root stopped once they were both inside and looked at the women.

“Zoe, how’ve you been. I haven’t seen you since the Alaskan fiasco. Six weeks ago right? You’ve been in Utah with that cult and I’ve been in and out, and our paths haven’t crossed. Dr. Shaw, you met Frankie at the party and this is Zoe Morgan, one of our top assets.”

The blonde stood and stuck out her hand.

“Frankie Wells.”

The doctor nodded and took it.

“Shaw.”

Root turned to the other as she also got to her feet. Shaw noticed she was average height- and that was possibly the only thing average about her. She was beautiful and her eyes sparkled with glee, like she knew a secret. It reminded her a little of the looks she’d seen in Root’s eyes on occasion.

Morgan smiled and stuck out her hand.

“Shaw, nice to meet you.”

Shaw smiled in spite of herself, Morgan’s face was that engaging, plus she was hot, as well. She took the woman’s hand, nodded, then followed Root to the back of the corporate jet where they sat in recliners that matched the ones Frankie and Zoe sat in.

They had barely taken their seats when a man entered the cabin dressed in khakis and a black polo under a leather flight jacket. He glanced at the passengers and, when his eyes fell on Root, he nodded.

“Welcome aboard, Miss- we haven’t seen you for awhile.”

“Thanks Marcus, it’s nice to be back and flying with a crew I can relax with. Oh, by the way, this is Shaw, she’s our guest for the day, and hopefully longer. Doctor, this is Marcus Field, our pilot for the day. He’s one of the only people I fly with without being nervous. He’s the best.”

“You’re too kind, Miss.. doctor, it’s a pleasure.”

Shaw smiled and nodded, taking in the pilot’s appearance. His blue eyes contrasted with the chocolate skin to create an impression that made Shaw’s heart speed up briefly. She looked away, not wanting to give the impression that she might be attracted to him. Root saw through it. After the pilot headed toward the cockpit, the hacker leaned in and whispered.

“I saw the look you gave him, and I have to tell you, you’re not the first. Word of warning though, he seems to only be interested in guys, but if anyone could break him down, it might be you, Sameen.”

Shaw reddened, then shook her head. Root threw her head back and laughed.

“Teasing, doctor, I’m only teasing.”

Shaw wondered. Then Root nodded toward the front.

“He’s getting ready, we should fasten our belts. We’ll be in the air in ten minutes and at cruising altitude in ten more. Then we can eat while we plan the operation.”

Shaw looked around the cabin.

“Nice plane, you guys own it?”

Root smiled.

“It’s TME’s corporate jet. Cessna Citation X, the fastest private jet in the world. Will approach the speed of sound if necessary, but we really like the way it gets up to eight of us anywhere within the continental US in six hours or less. We’ve taken it to Hawaii with a stop in LA, and Zoe and I took it to Alaska to rescue an irrelevant number from a relevant group- long story.

“We can reconfigure it in several layouts, including a mobile hospital if necessary. The two recliners across from us can be removed and replaced by a hospital bed. We’ve brought back a few who’ve needed immediate medical help and the fact that Dr. Tillman can provide that while we return from an operation has kept more than one from dying after we’ve eliminated the threat.”

Shaw nodded, impressed again in spite of herself. As she buckled in, she felt the plane begin to move. One minute later, the tiny jet leaped into the air and climbed. The doctor reflected on her time in the Marines and ISA when the flights to and from the mission were as likely to be in a crowded helicopter in the darkness of night, shoehorned into an area that was much too cramped to do anything but sit rigidly trying not to invade your teammates’ personal space.

_Like we had “personal space”. This is a whole lot more comfortable than those trips. There’s no camaraderie though- at least none I can see. Maybe they’re reluctant to let down their guard in front of a stranger._

She glanced out the window as the NYC area fell behind them. The jet swung out over the ocean briefly before hitting cruising altitude and flying almost due west. A few minutes later, a man Shaw hadn’t seen before left the cockpit and approached Root.

“We’re at cruising altitude Miss. You folks can eat when you’re ready.”

“Thank you Simon. Oh, by the way, this is Doctor Shaw, she’s accompanying us today. Doctor, this is Simon Farrell, our co-pilot.”

Shaw nodded and looked the co-pilot over. He appeared to be in his mid to late 50’s, about six feet tall, with white hair and black eyes. His reddish complexion suggested an Anglo heritage, but the black yarmulke suggested Judaism. The co-pilot turned and re-entered the cockpit.

“Simon’s an Orthodox Jew, and was a number during our war with Samaritan. His wife got in the way of Samaritan’s mission and was taken out before we could get to her.”

Root’s eyes briefly misted.

“A lot of numbers didn’t survive our battle. We lost a significant number of assets as well.”

She shook her head, then wiped at her eyes.

“Ironically, I never worried about who lived and who died until I got involved with Her. The only…”

Root shook her head again.

“Never mind, sorry. Anyway, Simon’s wife got caught in the crossfire when he was the target of some of Samaritan’s minions. He had joined Mossad after years in the Israeli Air Force and Samaritan decided he was apparently someone who needed to be eliminated. We speculated after that Samaritan wanted to eliminate anyone who’s God precluded them from worshipping an AI over their Creator.

“He was invaluable and motivated to help us eliminate the entity that murdered his wife. After the war ended, his skills as a pilot led to this, he and Marcus are our regular flight crew among their other talents.”

Shaw looked over at the hacker.

“You seem to have a talent for recruiting assets with an array of skills.”

“We’ll see, doctor, the jury’s still out in your case.”

Shaw rolled her eyes. Root stood and indicated Shaw should head toward the front.

“Galley's up there, our lunch is waiting.”

They grabbed their food and returned to the recliners. Root picked at her sandwich, barely eating a quarter of it. She stood after a few minutes and excused herself.

“Going over to talk to Zoe and Frankie about the mission, you’re welcome to listen in, but it’s not necessary.”

“I’ve got nothing else to do, besides, I am interested in how you people operate.”

The pair walked over to where Zoe and Frankie were finishing their lunch. While Frankie put away the wrappings, Zoe wiped the small table they had used. When it dried, Root set a file folder on it, reached in and withdrew a picture. A young, pretty female looked back at them.

Root removed another photo and a middle aged man, stared out. Black hair with a touch of gray, full black beard and dark eyes, his scowl gave a slightly dangerous sense to him.

“Madia Sarraf, fifteen and her father, Hami. Madia has been marked by her father for an “Honor Killing” for the offense of refusing to marry the forty year old uncle of her father. She ran away, then, when she was brought back and beaten for leaving, ran again.

“Her father has arranged for his daughter to be abducted and ritually executed by several people in the community. They’ve closed in on Madia’s location, but have been unable to locate her, mostly due to the Machine’s intervention. We’re going to get Madia away from her family and to safety, and we most likely will send her family and their circle of friends a message.”

“When we get down in KC, Simon will be our driver and Marcus will stay at the airport to take care of the plane. He’ll meet up with us later. We’re going to where Madia is currently staying, explain to her the danger she’s in, and get her out of the area. Simon will take her to a safe house we’ve secured in the area, and remain until Zoe and Frankie show up.

“They’ll spend the night with her and, in the morning, we’ll all get on the plane. She has arranged for Madia to live with a family in DC, so we’ll be stopping briefly at BWI to hand her off to Harper Rose.”

Root looked over at Shaw.

“She’s part of our DC team.” She glanced back at Zoe and Frankie. “Before Zoe and Frankie head to the safe house, they are going to help us teach these creeps a lesson. Madia, even thought she’s only fifteen, is tall for her age. Zoe is the exact same height and we’re going to set a trap for the abductors.

“Ritual Honor Killings are usually videotaped and broadcast as a way of keeping people in line. The plan is to substitute Zoe for Madia, then allow the ritual to play out until we step in. Now several things could take us off our script, but as long as they don’t remove Zoe’s burka, we should be able to get enough evidence to put them away for a long time.

“Once we have Zoe disguised,…. “

….

The operation went off without a hitch. The killers were so busy screaming praises to their God they never noticed there was a problem until they started hitting the ground with bullets in their knees. Shaw stayed in the background, but realized she was willing and able to serve as lookout to bring these scumbags down.

Once the attackers were rendered helpless and authorities contacted, the team left with Madia stopping only to drop both Root and Shaw at the steakhouse. The place looked fairly simple from the outside, two story brick with a six to eight foot cow on the roof, wearing a small billboard type sign.

Inside tables booths and a bar with big screen TV and a display case showing off samples of fresh meat butchered that day. Shaw ordered the 30 ounce Porterhouse with twice baked potato while Root had the five ounce Filet Mignon with grilled vegetables and a salad. When Shaw snorted at Root’s tiny piece of meat, the hacker looked sublimely over her drink and smiled.

“Not that into meat- I would have ordered the chicken breast except I didn’t want you eating the best steak in America alone.”

The doctor shook her head, but when their entrees arrived, she dug in with gusto. The first bite produced a moan that made Root’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Good?”

“Amazing, want to try it?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get between you and your meal, I don’t know you well enough… yet.”

The pair stayed until closing, each had two more drinks and Shaw finished Root’s Filet after demolishing her steak. They took an Uber to the hotel. Shaw looked at Root as she ordered the ride, a question in her eyes.  
“Why not call Simon? He’s got a rental until we leave.”

“His life has changed dramatically since Samaritan killed his wife. He doesn’t have the same drive he once had, and while he’s an excellent co-pilot and driver, I wouldn’t send him into any situation that required the skills our assets are required to possess. When we finally defeated Samaritan, he seemed to pack it in- and we let him. I think adrenaline and the desire to avenge his wife kept him going throughout the final few months of the war.

“I texted him he was off duty until tomorrow and I’m pretty sure by now he’s sleeping, probably with a few drinks in him. Tomorrow, he’ll be fine and ready to go, but I like to let him have some time to himself whenever I can, he’s earned it.”

Shaw looked at the hacker, wondering what made her tick. Their ride arrived and the fifteen minute trip to their hotel was made in silence. Shaw’s head was running scenarios, wondering if Root would hit on her when they got back to the hotel. And wondering if she wanted her to.

They arrived just after the front desk had closed, and had to wait a few minutes to get their keys from the night attendant. He noted their lack of luggage and the fact that their rooms were next to each other and leered at the pair as they turned and headed for the elevators.

Shaw, in spite of herself, was nervous and could feel her ears burning. She hoped Root wouldn’t notice, but of course the hacker did. The tall dark-haired beauty leaned against the side of the lift, checking Shaw out unabashedly. Finally, as the chime announced their floor, the hacker laughed.

“Nervous Sameen? You don’t have to be. I promise not to attack you, although I do believe we would really hit it off.”

Shaw scoffed as they exited the elevator.

“You have no idea what I like and what I’m…”

Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying. Root smirked at the doctor and took her gently by the elbow. They traveled the fifty feet in silence. As they reached Shaw’s door, the hacker squeezed the petite Persian’s elbow- hard. As Shaw’s breath hissed in, Root took her other hand, grabbed Shaw by the throat and forced her up against the door of the room.

Shaw was taken by surprise, as much by Root’s maneuver as by her allowing it. She could have easily fended off the hacker’s hands, but found herself more turned on than pissed off. As she processed the action, the hacker leaned in, kissed the doctor violently, then, just as Shaw was about to push her away, bit down hard enough to draw blood.

Then her teeth were gone, replaced by a tongue that soothed Shaw’s damaged lip as the doctor felt her body beginning to betray her.

Then Root was gone, leaving the doctor staring at her retreating back. Seconds later, as the hacker reached her door, she looked back at Shaw and smirked again.

“I do think we’d hit it off. Goodnight Sam.”

And she was gone, leaving Shaw standing in the hall breathing heavily with all of her nerve ends seemingly on fire.

_What the actual fuck was that?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to make up for the gap in posting so here's another chapter. Trying to post new chapter every other day. Please let me know what you think- it encourages me.

Shaw lay awake a long time after her tour guide and potential employer went into her room. She wondered what she was signing up for, if she was going to sign up at all, and wondered what had happened in the hall. Was it just Root flirting, trying to get the doctor off her game? Was it her way of trying to close the deal?

She turned the day’s events over in her mind for a long time before sleep slipped up on her and took her down. That night she dreamed of Cole, who she hadn’t thought about much in the last year or so, especially after the breakup with Lambert. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a Porsche Turbo Carrera, the last car the two of them used before he was killed.

“You know Shaw, you’re allowed to have feelings. I know you had them for me, even though you insisted you didn’t. You might have even had them for that Jeremy prig, though I don’t know how or why you would. But it doesn’t diminish what we had to move on, and it doesn’t disrespect your father to have feelings for another human being.”

Shaw sat up from the dream, the words falling from her lips as she awoke.

“You don’t talk about my fa…”

_Dream, it was just a dream._

As she settled back down, she felt something weird on her face, she raised her hand to her cheek and realized both cheeks were wet. She rubbed her eyes and turned over.

_Must of got something in them when I laid down._

Her last thought, before she fell into a deep dreamless sleep was _are you trying to fool yourself?_

….

The next morning, Shaw met Root, Simon and Marcus in the dining room. Breakfast was quick and simple as they had to get in the air by 11:00 and it was already 9:00. As they headed to the safe house to pick up the others, Root patted Shaw’s hand.

“There’ll be food on the plane, doctor, we don’t want you to starve.”

Shaw couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not.

The ride to the safe house had Shaw wondering if she’d imagined the last few minutes of their night. Root was all business, discussing the previous day’s events with the others along with the upcoming schedule. When she finished, the hacker turned to Shaw and smiled.  
“We’re going to stop in DC for only fifteen minutes or so. We need to get back to the city so Zoe can head off to her next number. You and I have the rest of today off, but tomorrow at 5:00AM we will pick you up and head for JFK. We have a 7:45AM flight to Barcelona.

“We’ll meet with the team there, then spend the night. Tuesday, we’re headed for Tel Aviv where there is a number on the relevant side. We’re hopefully going to prevent an attack on the Knesset by ISIS suicide bombers. Israeli Intelligence is playing games with our intel so we’re going in ourselves to make sure nothing happens.

“We have no team in Israel at present, so we will be taking an asset or two from the Barcelona group with us. I’m less than thrilled, but it’s the only reasonable alternative at this time.”

Root’s face showed her displeasure. Shaw noticed it and it set her to wondering.

_There’s something in Barcelona that she’s not happy about. Or maybe someone._

They arrived at the safe house in less that ten minutes. Frankie, Zoe and the number slid into the third row, Madia looking tired, but relieved. The trip to the airport was less than thirty minutes and within another thirty they were taxiing down the runway. There was food on the plane, Root engaged with all the passengers and crew, and was all business when she and Shaw talked.

_No innuendo, no flirting, nothing. It’s like last night didn’t happen._

They dropped Madia at a private hanger at BWI. Root was the only one to deplane, and Shaw watched as she discussed something with a woman who appeared briefly from inside the building. Madia went along with the woman, an attractive African-American in her 20’s and Root was back on the plane in less than ten minutes.

The return flight to Teterboro was uneventful, save for Root and Frankie spending most of it together discussing God knows what. When the plane landed and the group split up, both Frankie and Zoe came over to Shaw and said goodbye.

“I hope this isn’t the only time we see you, doctor.” Zoe smiled genuinely as she shook Shaw’s hand.

Frankie was more reserved.

“I expect to see you when you two return from Europe. Good luck.”

The ride back to Shaw’s apartment was made in the same Escalade that had taken them to the plane the previous day. Root was silent, working on a laptop the entire trip. When the SUV pulled up outside her apartment, dusk had already snuck up on the city.

Shaw looked over at the hacker who seemed lost in thought. Shaking her head, she reached for the door handle. As she was about to open the door, she felt a hand on her arm.

“Sameen, I’ll see you in the morning. I wish we could have spent more time talking today, but I’ve got a full plate right now. We’ll talk more tomorrow on the way to the airport and on the plane.

“I really think you would be perfect for this, and…..”

Root’s voice trailed off, but the promise of something hung in the air between them. It made the doctor uncomfortable, but she only nodded and got out of the Escalade. She headed upstairs and spent the rest of the evening in front of her TV, not watching the NFL while she replayed the past thirty-six hours hours in her mind.

_The action’s OK, but I don’t know if this is such a good idea._

….

“Ladies and gentleman, we are approaching Barcelona- El Prat, please stow your belongings, turn off electronics and fasten your seat belts. Weather this evening is 10 degrees Celsius, clear with a slight breeze. Thank you for flying….”

Shaw looked out the window at the city lights. Her biological clock would reset itself in a matter of a few hours, she knew. Her time in the Marines, the ISA and the last few years in the ER had taught her how to adjust her sleep schedule to accommodate any changes.

She hadn’t been to Spain for seven or eight years. One of the first missions she did with Cole took them to Valencia, where they spent several days near the Mediterranean waiting for their target to show. They had learned early not to broach the subject of why, so they waited for a G. Longrahn to check into their hotel.

It was another in a long list of actions that, on reflection, Shaw realized should have concerned her about her job. When Gia Longrahn showed up, she appeared to be in her early 20’s, and a typical child of privilege. They left her lying in her bed, a single .22 slug lodged in her brain, and a “note” scrawled on the mirror of her room in lipstick.

The gun, strategically placed next to her as if it had fallen to the side after she pulled the trigger, had only her prints and the pair left no trace of any visitors to the room. If either Shaw or Cole had any ideas about why this particular girl had to be eliminated, they kept them to themselves.

_First time I wondered if what I was doing was for the good guys or the bad guys. But it was the first time Cole and I…._

“Doctor, you’re a million miles away. I hope the memories of Ms. Longrahn’s death aren’t flashing back on you. She was a good kill, you know- member of the ETA, a Basque separatist organization that killed hundreds in its lifetime. She was set to be an intermediary for delivery of a biological weapon that was targeting the Spanish Parliament in Madrid.”

Shaw stared wide-eyed at Root.

“How the hell do you….”

“Doctor, you have no idea the reach the Machine has. It can go into places people believe are impenetrable, reveal things believed buried forever and expose things many would prefer that stayed hidden. She knows everything about you and She wants you to come work for us.

“I could never make that sort of decision on my own.”

….

As they exited the plane, a young woman in her mid 20’s was waiting with a hand held sign saying “TME”. She smiled nervously as she spotted the pair approaching her, and waved tentatively.

“Buenas noches, Miss. I’m Gabriella Velez, we met…”

“I remeber you Gabriella, you were at the training session in Zurich last month. You did well and we want to expand your training in the near future. You have real potential.”

Gabriella visibly preened at Root’s words. Root turned to Shaw and introduced the two women. They headed to baggage claim to pick up their luggage and headed out the door. The evening was cool by Barcelona standards, but significantly warmer than the weather in New York. There was a white stretch limo waiting for them just outside the glass doors.

A driver wearing a black suit was standing by the back door and, as they approached he opened it. The young lady indicated Root and Shaw should sit in the back, then she hopped in the middle seat which faced the rear. Shaw noted Root’s displeasure as she saw the passenger waiting for them.

“Tomas, you don’t seem to get the concept of under the radar, do you?”

The target of Root’s remark sat in the darkened vehicle, features obscured by the lack of light and the tinted windows of the limousine. His voice, as he answered, held just a hint of amusement.

“Every flight that comes in from New York is met by at least a half-dozen limos, I thought this would allow you to fit in as just another exec coming in for business. It’s nice to see you again, Miss Root, I see you brought along another beautiful companion.”

“Doctor, this is Tomas Koroa, he’s our asset here in Barcelona, and for now, most of Europe. Tomas, Doctor Shaw is here solely to observe, so I’d appreciate it if you tread softly and try not to scare her off.”

The man, features still obscured by the lighting, held out his hand.

“Tomas Koroa, Dr. Shaw, a pleasure to meet you. If there’s anything I can do to make your time here more enjoyable, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

The innuendo and invitation in Koroa’s voice made Root’s flirting seem innocuous by comparison. Shaw found herself intrigued, in spite of herself. Here was someone who seemed thoroughly unintimidated by Root. He seemed to enjoy pushing his employer’s buttons with little or no regard for any consequences.

_He’s either so self-confident he feels he can’t lose, or maybe he comes from a place where he feels he has nothing to lose. Either way, it’s sexy._

The four rode in silence to a ten story office building less than twenty minutes from the airport. Root was engaged with her laptop, and pointedly ignoring Koroa, who periodically pointed out areas that he thought might interest Shaw. In spite of her being introduced as Dr. Shaw, and despite the fact that they passed two hospitals on the way, his places of interest seemed to be clubs where the music was loud and the clientele young.

“If you’re returning here in the near future, or need somewhere to relax after your long trip today, I’d be happy to show you some of the sights or if you just wanted to get a drink, I would be happy…..”

“Tomas, put another notch on your belt another time, we’ve got work to do and an operation to plan.”

Shaw was surprised at the exasperation in Root’s voice.

_She really doesn’t like him much. Wonder why she keeps him around._

The limo arrived at the entrance to the office building, pulling up to the two story entrance covered by a portico that reached at least thirty feet into the air. As Shaw leaned forward to exit, she was stopped by a gentle hand on her forearm. The doctor sat back and hesitated, while the driver came around the side of the vehicle, opened it, and waited.

Root tilted her head and looked at the pair in the middle seat. Only Gabriella moved forward and slipped out of the passenger compartment. After an uncomfortably long moment, Koroa sighed and exited the limo. Shaw caught a glimpse of a darkly handsome man as his face briefly was visible before he climbed out and headed toward the doors of the building.

Root sat just a few seconds as the pair walked toward the doors. Then she lifted her hand and indicated Shaw should go ahead and get out.

“After you sweetie.”

Shaw turned and stepped out onto the sidewalk, then turned as Root followed. The pair headed for the doors as Tomas, back to them, was working a key pad next to a door on the far right of the entrance. As the two approached the door, Koroa swung it open and held it for them.

“Ladies, after you.”

_Oh shit! He’s hot._

Darkly handsome with close cropped hair and a hint of five o’clock shadow, Koroa stood outside. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief as he held the door for the pair who’d just arrived from the states. His stare captivated and held Shaw momentarily, hesitating before Root’s voice came from her rear.

“We can stand out here all night or we can go in and get our business done.”

Tomas ignored Root, but gestured for Shaw to go ahead.

“After you lovely lady.”

Shaw was happy to get through the doors and into the darkened atrium where the lights had dimmed at normal closing hours. The heat she felt in her cheeks would be less noticeable. She walked after Gabriella who stood waiting at a bank of elevators. The doctor hesitated before approaching the elevators, willing her pulse to slow and her composure to return.

She waited for Root to arrive, then walked with her to the lift where Gabriella waited, holding the door. Root looked back, frowned and held up her hand.

“We’ll wait for him.”

Koroa arrived seconds later, smiling at Shaw as he slipped into the elevator. He looked at Root and nodded, then slipped a card into a slot. Root sighed as the lift rose to the top floor. The group exited and headed into a large reception area, then followed Gabriella to a conference room down a hallway.

The conference room looked like any other- its central feature was the large table which seated 12 comfortably. There were five seated at the table awaiting them. The five, four men and a woman, rose to their feet when the four entered. Root waved them back to their sears and took the empty chair at one end of the table.

“Thanks for coming in after hours, although with our jobs there are no hours.”

A light chuckle wandered around the table. Root took her seat and picked up a remote lying in front of her. She nodded at the other end of the table, where a large flat screen switched from a picture of the Barcelona skyline at night to a split screen of four scowling male faces.

“This is the team that’s going to attempt to hit the Knesset tomorrow. The session is going to be discussing the West Bank settlements and one of their enemies has managed to infiltrate the security setup there. The attack is going to come from a car bomb, not a unique attack for ISIS or this part of the world.

“What Israeli Intelligence refuses to acknowledge is the ISIS activity in North Korea over the last eight months. I’m not getting why they’re blind to this threat, but the fact remains that three weeks ago the terrorists took delivery of a ‘dirty bomb’ with enough fissionable material to not only take down the entire building but will make a good portion of Jerusalem uninhabitable for the next ten to fifteen years.”

“There isn’t a better target for these crazies than Israel’s center of government. I think what Mossad might be ignoring is the threat groups on the fringe of ISIS’ loose confederation are to the entire Middle East and not just the nation of Israel.

“The Machine believes the attack tomorrow will use the dirty bomb. The death toll will approach 100,000 with the initial detonation and the resulting radioactive fallout. We can’t let that happen.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning- sexual activity, mostly implied, not rising to level of an adult content warning.

Root paused to let her words sink in. Shaw was shaken- in all her years in the Marines and ISA, she’d never dwelled on the consequences her actions had on world events, but the thought of that many victims slammed into her with the force of a punch. She looked around the table at the rest of the people and saw the same blank stare on their faces that she thought had crept up on hers.

Tomas, sitting next to Root and across from the doctor, looked back at the hacker.

“How the hell did they get a dirty bomb across thousands of miles without any alarms being raised?”

“Two weeks ago, the North Koreans saber-rattled again, test firing a missile over the Sea of Japan that flew over one hundred miles before falling into international waters. The fallout concentrated the world’s intelligence communities attention on the launch site and the country’s nuclear facilities for a full week.

“Less than twelve hours after the missile launch, a truck crossed the border at a small village less than fifty miles south of the Tianci Tourism Village in northwestern China. The truck went across the border with no inspection, then traveled several local roads and highways until it came to a stop in Bayan Nur, about 600 miles east.

“It appears there they switched vehicles, the radiation trail indicates a large panel van took the bomb to the far western provinces including the Tibetan Autonomous Region, where they once again switched vehicles. They next crossed Northern India into Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they would of course be welcomed by the majority of citizens and the government.

“From Afghanistan, they traveled through Iran, Iraq and Syria until crossing the border into Israel sometime in the last 72 hours. The Machine has extrapolated changing vehicles three more times during the trip, however all She could locate were trace radiation spikes in the areas they likely switched.

“Fortunately for us all, these fanatics took martyrdom seriously enough they apparently decided they would survive the last 2000 miles without changing driving crews. I say fortunately, because three men were found dead in a warehouse fifteen miles west of Amman, Jordan, less than 25 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies.

“Last night, a disturbance on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, brought troops from the entire northern third of the shore to a spot less than a quarter mile from the northern edge of the Dead Sea. It appears the terrorists used that as a diversion to barge their vehicle across and into Israel.

“The countries used are generally enemies of Israel, overtly or passively. Bribing an official with money and the promise to eliminate “The Great Satan’s puppet” would not require an extreme amount of effort.”

Tomas shook his head.

“So how do we stop them, and what are we going to do with the bomb?”

Root smiled faintly.

“Stopping the attack on the Knesset is the easy part. It looks like the terrorists will wait until an hour before the parliament meets to begin to move. They’re hiding in the southern area of the western bank of the Dead Sea. According to their radiation footprint, they’re about 25 miles southeast of Jerusalem. The Machine will let us know when they begin to move and we’ll intercept them in the most isolated place.

“We’ll take out the truck’s crew, then we’ll deactivate the timing device they’re undoubtedly using. Once the crew is down, Tomas and I will approach the vehicle, disarm the timer and get out of the area.”

Tomas raised a single eyebrow in Root’s direction.

“You do make it sound simple. So what happens after we disarm the weapon?”

“Hopefully the fact of the weapon will wake up the Israeli Intelligence community and their armed forces to the danger and they will take proper precautions and dispose of the weapon. Then we can head back here. If they need any convincing about the reality of the threat, I will stay back to explain what they were dealing with, with the help of Her of course.”

Root stood, effectively bringing the meeting to an end.

“Zeke and Isaac are going to be our pilots and co-pilots tomorrow. We have a Citation waiting at the airport to fly us to Jerusalem. We’ll leave here at 6:30AM, four hours on the Citation will arrive at 11:30AM Jerusalem time. A large transport van will be waiting to drive us to the point of attack.

“By the time we arrive, they will be moving and we’ll have an optimal location for the attack. The two pilots will stay with the plane and Dr. Shaw. The five of us will set up the ambush and get the bomb deactivated. With no glitches, we’ll be in and out in less than six hours.”

Shaw was shaking her head.

“Listen Root, if I’m going all the way to Israel with this team, I want to be part of the team when the ambush takes place. I still am an expert with any rifle you place in my hands. After hearing this, I want to be part of this. You’re going to have at most, four snipers, I can add a fifth and ensure the success of the attack.

“No offense, but there were no snipers in ISA that came even close to me. I still shoot three or four times a month and haven’t lost anything. Taking out the driving crew is the first and most important step- without that, they may be able to get close enough to set off the bomb even if they can’t get to their primary target.

“I can give you a much better chance of stopping them exactly where you want, making the rest of the operation more attainable. It just makes sense- I’m ready, willing and able to help. Let me, please.”

“Sa… Dr. Shaw, you’re not even a part of this team yet. I don’t doubt your abilities, and I know the Machine doesn’t either, but I’m not comfortable putting you in that kind of danger until you decide to join us, if you do.”

“I’m still on the fence Root, but this is the kind of action that will help me make a decision. It’s one thing to remember what this type of operation is like, it’s another to be actually doing what I used to do.

“It may turn out I no longer enjoy it- there’s that risk. But it also may whet my appetite for more action- that was one of the hooks you used to get me to agree to this anyway. That and the fact that I’d be working on the side of the angels- at least that’s what you said.

“And if this operation is any indication, this team is definitely on the side of the angels. No matter what you believe about the Middle East conflict, and don’t forget I’m Iranian, you don’t set off a nuclear weapon, even a weak one, in a large population center. We’ve hopefully evolved past that.”

Root appeared moved by Shaw’s passionate plea, but her skin flushed slightly indicating something else was affecting her as well. She appeared to be struggling internally before she nodded once.

“All right, you’re in. Now let’s get get out of here and get some rest. We leave in less than eight hours.”

….

Their room was a suite on the fourth floor. Two bedrooms, king-sized bed and separate bathrooms. The pair headed for their rooms without a word and both spent twenty minutes in the shower. Root wandered into the kitchen area, found an apple hiding in the fresh fruit basket on the counter, and was headed back to her room when Shaw appeared, wearing nothing but a towel.

The doctor eyes traveled slowly over the hacker’s body, lingering on her legs that seemed to go on forever. Root wore only a tee shirt that ended just above her knees, yet was tight enough to accent her curves. Shaw felt her heartbeat accelerate and was vaguely aware of the burning sensation creeping up from her throat to paint her cheeks.

For Root, the intensity of the doctor’s gaze inflamed her. She felt herself losing the control she’d forced on herself since the kiss in the hallway leaving, evaporating under the heat of Shaw’s gaze and the pull from the promise of what was beneath that towel.

As her skin tinged pink at the neckline of the tee shirt, she paused, apple only inches from her mouth. The pair stared at each other, hunger battling chemistry for dominance.

Chemistry won.

Root set the apple back in the basket and walked toward the Persian firecracker whose fuse had apparently been ignited by the sight of the hacker fresh from the shower. Root paused less than six inches from the doctor and stared into her eyes.

They remained frozen for seconds, minutes, hours. Shaw finally licked her lips and the movement was like she had pressed a button in Root’s brain. The hacker closed the distance and the moan that escaped when their lips met could have come from either.

This time Shaw was the one who seized the opportunity to bite down on the tall, dark-haired beauty’s lower lip. Root’s hiss was followed by another moan and she broke off the contact to look the doctor in the eyes once more.

“Your place or mine?”

Shaw rolled her eyes.

“Mine’s closer.”

….

Some time later Root left Shaw’s bed, only to return with two bottles of water. Shaw accepted one, then looked up at the hacker.

“Look, we probably should have had this conversation before, but we _need_ to have it now. I don’t do sleepovers, and I have a strict rule- three nights and done. So you need to know up front that if you think this is going to be anything permanent or semi-permanent, well it just isn’t going to happen.

“I broke that rule with Cole and Lambert and it caused nothing but grief for everyone- hell it might have gotten Michael killed for all I know. So if you don’t like those terms, I’m sorry, but that’s how it is and how it’s going to be.”

Root leaned over and took Shaw’s water bottle from her hand.

"Well, if it’s only a three night thing, we’d better make the most of tonight. And this time you’re going to listen to me and do exactly as I tell you to.”

She left the room for a minute, returning with a three foot section of rope.

_Where did she get that?_

“Hands above your head, Sameen.”

Shaw could feel the heat returning.

….

The pair slept most of the flight from Spain to Israel, seeing as sleep was noticeably absent the night before. Shaw’s thoughts, when awake, were of the strange sensations that kept returning to her body- sensations that had little to do with the bruises, bite marks and rope burns that left a pleasant reminder of the previous evening.

No these sensations were reminiscent of those she remembered from the time she and Cole were…. whatever they were. The doctor had never processed any of the fallout from either her time with Cole nor from his death. She had deliberately pushed it into the recesses of her mind and in doing so, was able to convince herself she never had any _feelings_ about Cole or the time they spent together.

The sensations she was experiencing since she first saw the hacker that night at the party were similar, yet different. There was an intensity to them that she didn’t remember ever having in her adult life. She wasn’t sure she enjoyed them and considered what steps needed to be taken in order to ensure these sensations were short-lived.

She would tell you her concern was for the simplicity that she wanted to return to her life, that fear of these sensations played no part.

That’s what she’d tell you.

The truth… well, it was the truth, because Sameen Shaw always was honest with herself and feared nothing.

_Yeah, right_.


	9. Chapter 9

The seven person team had set up in the foothills less than one hundred yards from the road, and was currently waiting as Root updated them on the truck’s progress. According to her last communication with the Machine, it would be another 20 minutes before it was showtime, plenty of time for both Shaw and the hacker to get lost in their thoughts.

The previous evening left a residue of swirling thoughts and emotions that needed to be headed off before they became an issue. The connection was obvious, but so was the bigger picture. Recruiting an asset did not mean hooking up during the recruitment process. Root’s devotion to the Machine, and her current position left no room for relationships.

Then there was the tiny voice she tried to ignore, the one stoking the fires of jealousy as she observed the looks passing between Tomas and Shaw. He was obviously interested and the doctor seemed to at least be allowing the come ons if not actively encouraging them.

The mission ahead, despite its inherent danger, presented a distraction that wasn’t altogether unwelcome. Root forced herself to focus on what lie immediately ahead and let her concerns for the future recede into the back of her mind.

“She says they will come around that bend in eleven minutes and thirty seconds, with a twenty second margin of error. Isaac, Gabriella and Pieter, how are your sight lines?”

Each team member had an earpiece and miniature mic for comms. The three had positioned themselves almost directly across from Root and her group’s location. Each were situated about thirty feet above the road way and along a straightaway that ran a quarter mile in front and another half mile past their position.

The truck would come around a curve after cresting a hill that climbed for almost a full mile. As the truck came into view, it’s speed would have been reduced by the climb and sharp turn. The driver would be busy trying to get his vehicle up to speed again but would only be able to approach thirty miles per hour by the time they hit the kill zone.

Tomas would fire the heat seeking missile which would disable the truck. Shaw and Novena were to hit the driver immediately after the missile hit, while the others would take out the passenger before he could get to the bomb. Root and Tomas would then approach the truck and defuse the timer so the bomb would be rendered relatively harmless.

Root was going to send an electronic message to Mossad at five minutes to intercept. The Machine would feed the attack into the Israeli Intelligence headquarters, spurring them to action. Then they would head back to the airport and consult with the authorities after leaving Israeli airspace.

“Six minutes… mark.”

….

Shaw heard Root’s voice announcing six minutes to go. She brought herself out of her reverie and concentrated on the task at hand. She had spent much of the last forty-five minutes or so thinking about the previous evening. Their second round of physical activity had left its mark, both on Shaw’s body and on the doctor’s mind.

The hangover from their night together troubled her more than she might even admit to herself. She was _feeling_ something… hard as it was to admit, the truth was unavoidable. She’d always considered herself different, but her views on her difference changed as she went from child to young adult, and from student to intern to soldier.

Initially, her stoicism about her “disorder” was erected to cover the feeling that there was something wrong with her, that her difference was a weakness. As she progressed through school, her views had changed. She embraced her disorder, believing the lack of emotions or feelings made her a better physician, better soldier and better assassin.

As a result, this intrusion of feelings had to be dealt with- there was no room in her life for it. The question was, how to do it. Shaw’s entire life was based on planning. When she encountered an obstacle, she planned a way around it. When she encountered a wall, she planned a way over it, around it or through it.

Root’s appearance in her life was both obstacle and opportunity and she was determined to navigate her way past the obstacle while determining whether the opportunity was one she wanted to embrace. The first step would be making certain any hangover from her encounter with the hacker was short-lived.

And it was quite possible the solution was nestled in the outcropping of rocks less than ten feet below and in front of her. Tomas had taken the optimal launch position, MANPAD resting inches from his hand.

The darkly handsome man with eyes that intrigued Shaw had the crucial task of disabling the truck the bomb was riding in _without setting off the bomb_. Perfect placement was required as was the settings on the heat seeking missile that would do the job. Root and Tomas had checked the missile settings upon arrival, and once satisfied, set Tomas up at the optimal launch position.

Watching the operative as he checked his target area with a pair of binoculars, she let her eyes roam over his rippling muscles and taut physique. He reminded her of a panther- lean, muscular and darkly dangerous. He’d been eyeing her up since the moment she climbed in the limo at the Barcelona airport and it generated an itch she was tempted to scratch.

She glanced over at Root and decided to focus on the mission and deal with the rest afterward.

….

One minute until contact… mark.”

Shaw and Novena trained their guns on the kill zone, adjustments made moments ago with a wind speed indicator/rangefinder. Root had mentioned the Italian woman’s history in passing the previous evening. She had joined the Italian army immediately out of school, survived the harassment that plagued the army’s treatment when women were first allowed to serve and became one of their top snipers. She also proved highly proficient in hand to hand combat and served as a trainer in both disciplines until her separation after ten years of service.

Her service helped her land a job at one of Europe’s top private security firms where she worked for several years before being recruited by TME. She had also, during her 20’s, twice qualified for the Italian Olympic Rifle team, just missing a medal in her second appearance.

She was good.

The seconds crawled by as the team waited for the truck to make an appearance. When Root announced ten seconds until contact, it felt like everything slowed down to a crawl. The Machine’s estimate proved fairly accurate, but the actual thirteen second wait seemed like an hour to Shaw, who hadn’t been involved in a mission for years.

Finally the front end of the truck appeared as it swung around the curve and slowly accelerated along the straightaway. The seconds crawled by as Shaw noted in her peripheral vision Tomas putting the missile launcher to his shoulder, then hold as they awaited the Machine’s command.

A metallic voice began to count in each team member’s ear.

“Five, four, three… two… one, launch!”

Shaw felt the impact at the instant she heard a muffled blast and a whooshing sound as the missile left the tube and headed down toward its target. Years of training took over as she slowed her breathing to both calm and focus her on the task at hand. Seconds that seemed like minutes later, the front of the truck exploded and the front wheels collapsed.

The impact and blast did surprisingly little damage as the warhead, specifically designed to do maximum damage with minimal blast radius worked to perfection. The hood flew up and away with the blast, however the windshield remained intact. Most importantly, the bomb in the rear of the truck did not detonate.

As the smoke cleared, both Shaw and Novena made quick work of the driver, who sat stunned behind the wheel. Each fired three times and there was no doubt of the damage- extensive and complete. As they were checking their aim, voices in their ear pieces alerted them to a problem from across the road.

“Smoke didn’t clear and we haven’t been able to check our accuracy- there’s still a thick cloud obscuring vision.”

Shaw immediately refocused on the cab, saw movement through the frame of the windshield which had completely disappeared during the rifle assault. The passenger door was closing and she saw a head disappear heading toward the back. Instinctively, she tracked the movement as it disappeared and fired off two more rounds.

Simultaneously, she heard Novena’s rifle bark once, then a second time. All four shots fired within a span of two seconds. There was silence from the road, the only noise the hissing of a radiator losing its remaining pressure. Unsure of her next move, Shaw held her eye to the scope as she waited.

Seconds later, the voices came through the comm.

“Passenger down, it appears he left the truck and was hit by the fire from the driver’s side. He’s lying motionless about five feet from the cab. Whoever did that, nice shooting.”

Root and Tomas nodded at the pair and headed down toward the truck. Root looked over her shoulder as they disappeared behind a boulder.

“Stay here for a few minutes, we’ll let you know when it’s safe to head back toward the van.”

….

Five minutes later, Root keyed her comm.

“No hostiles in sight, the area appears secure, except for the weapon. I want you all to head for the van, stay with it until we join you. If something goes wrong and the bomb detonates, you won’t have a lot of time, but try to get to the airport ahead of any cloud. We have the wind somewhat in our favor.

“By the way, Shaw and Novena- that was some impressive shooting. The passenger has four wounds two to the chest, one in the throat and one in the back of his head. Not bad for shooting blind through steel and hitting a moving target.”

Shaw and Novena smiled at each other, then began to pack up the weapons. Once the two rifles were stowed, Shaw disassembled the MANPAD and slung it over her shoulder, letting Novena carry the rifles.

They began the trek down the hill and toward the van.

….

Root and Tomas approached the rear of the truck with caution. Each had weapons, Tomas held a .45 Army field weapon while Root wielded a pair of 9mm Beretta Nanos. Root nodded at the door handle, stood back and raised both guns as Tomas reached up and pulled the locking lever loose.

The door swung open, revealing no guards in the back. The only cargo was a rectangular crate the size of a casket. Pushing _that_ particular imagery out of her mind, Root hopped up and approached the crate. Tomas was at her side in seconds and withdrew a small crowbar from the bag they had brought. Within seconds, the top was loose and the pair slid it off the body of the crate.

Inside the crate was a five foot cylindrical container with a digital lock. Root looked over at Tomas and nodded. The ex-jewel thief went to work with several leads and a device that had a usb plug attached to a cable. Quickly and efficiently, he attached the leads as Root plugged the usb into her laptop.

Numbers scrolled across the screen with lightning speed. After fifteen seconds, Tomas made several adjustments to the leads and the screen once again lit up with numbers. Finally, after thirty eternal seconds, numbers appeared in red on the laptops display.

3-8-2-1-9

Root looked over at Tomas who nodded and punched the code into the keypad atop the cylinder. An audible click sounded and all the lights turned from red to green. The top six inches of the cylinder had separated about an inch from the rest of the body. Tomas carefully slid it off and revealed a second digital device, this one a timer. It was at 44:15 and running down as they watched.

Root approached the side of the crate where the timer sat, set the laptop on the corner of the crate and began to attach more usb cords. She tried to block the timer (now at 42:32) out of her mind (42:26) and focus on the task of disabling the timer (41:50). Once her laptop was linked to the timer, she began running several programs at once.

(40:25)

The pair watched the timer and the screen of the laptop as if they held the key to the universe. Root took a deep breath as the timer hit 35:00 and looked over at Tomas.

“Look, it doesn’t take both of us to cut wires in the correct sequence, why don’t you head back to the van. If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, get out of the area. If I do disable it, I can let you know to come back and pick me up.”

Tomas shook his head.

“No way I’m leaving you alone with this thing. We’re doing this together.”

Root shrugged and they returned their attention to the display on the laptop as the timer passed 32:30 three schematics appeared on the screen. Tomas pointed at the bottom drawing.

“It’s that one, but the color scheme is wrong.”

Root nodded. She glanced at the laptop, then the timer.

“Four wires going to the detonator. The schematic shows red, green, black and gray but the timer has red, black and two grays. These things aren’t supposed to be adjustable, but it appears someone messed with the wiring to throw anyone trying to disarm it off.”

Tomas leaned over the timer. He appeared lost in thought for what seemed like hours. When Root looked at the timer, only five minutes had actually gone by. Suddenly, Tomas looked over at the hacker, a gleam in his eye.

“Give me my case.”

Root handed over the briefcase Tomas had shared with Root to bring the laptop and any small tools they thought would be helpful. The ex-jewel thief pulled a wire cutters and a razor blade from the case.

“I'm going to slice a one inch long piece of the outside insulation. It's somewhat delicate so you might want to either leave for a couple of minutes or sit very still and very quiet while I do this.”

The hacker nodded her understanding and sat back to watch. Tomas, perspiration beading his forehead delicately slid the blade along the red wire. Finished, he set the blade down and separated the insulation slowly.

He looked up at Root, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.

“This is actually the black wire. I've only seen this once and it almost cost me prison time. They took a slightly larger wire and, after carefully encasing the original, they resealed the wires. If they had switched all four with four instead of three colors we'd never have known. We were lucky.”

Root looked at the timer (23:40).

“We better get a move on or it won't matter.”

“Now I only need two more cuts and we're good.”

Five minutes later he looked up at Root and nodded. The hacker handed him the wire cutters.

“Green, black, red and gray in that order.”

“Here goes.”

The beads of perspiration began to slide down Tomas’ forehead, his hyper-awareness manifesting. He looked over at Root, took one calming breath and looked at the timer.

_Green_

Snip. They were still alive.

_Black_

Snip-... still alive

_Red_

Snip-... alive

_Gray_

Snip.

Root looked at Tomas who was staring back at her, a look of stunned surprise on his face.

“We're still alive.”

Root had trouble finding her voice. She glanced at the timer, it had stopped at 12:38. _If this was a movie it would be at 0:03. And I wouldn't have almost shit myself._

The Machine was in her ear.

“Tomas, the Israelis are almost here- go back to the van and I'll catch up after I pack this up. We did it- now get going.”

Root started to turn, then looked back at the ex-jewel thief.

“Go... Now!”

Tomas looked at the hacker, saw the seriousness in her eyes and turned to head for the van which was several hundred yards up the road and around a long sloping curve. By cutting through the boulders you could trim almost half a mile off driving distance.

He was about one hundred yards away from the truck when he heard the sound of trucks approaching him from the direction of their van. Veering off to toward the rocky hills where the van was situated, he looked back toward the truck- and saw no one following. He hesitated, ducking behind boulders and keeping an eye on the truck.

Finally Root appeared from the back of the truck, carrying the bag with all of their supplies and the laptop. She started toward where Tomas was standing waving at her to hurry. The voice in her ear told her it was basically hopeless.

_Three army convoy vehicles, approximately twenty four humans approaching from the northeast, will be in view in fifteen seconds._

Root swerved off the road, heading directly toward the rocks. She wave at Tomas to keep going, the Machine connected their comms.

“Go Tomas, you’re not doing me any good if we both get detained. I will be released within a day or two, the evidence will exonerate us all, it just might take some time. I’m going to give the impression I’m trying to get away so they’ll concentrate more on me. When I’m free to go, I’ll contact you or Gabriella and arrange return to Barcelona or New York directly if it takes too long.”

“I don’t want to abandon you, Root.”

“There are two dozen Israeli soldiers coming in seconds, what are you going to do? Get out of here and make sure the rest of the team gets to safety. Now. It’s not a request.”

“Fine… good luck.”

Root kept going, heading for the rocks and hoping the soldiers aim was as good as it should be. She was less than fifty yards from the first outcropping of rocks when a loudspeaker blared at her.

“Stop, drop what you’re carrying and surrender.”

She kept running. Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire and bullets stitched the area to her immediate left and right. Relieved that they did what SOP dictated, she dropped her bag, raised her hands in the air and froze.

_Now the fun begins._


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, please let me know what you're thinking, Comments fuel my creativity.

Root stood frozen waiting for the instructions she knew were coming. She had dropped the bag and raised her hands in surrender. Fifteen seconds passed, then another fifteen. A voice within speaking distance commanded her to remain still.

“Hands behind your head. Now get down on your knees.”

Root complied with the instructions. She heard footsteps approaching, then her right hand was grabbed and pulled down behind her back. She felt the metal of a handcuff snap around her right wrist, then the procedure was repeated with her left wrist. She knelt like that for a couple minutes before a man in camo walked around from her right and into her field of vision.

There was a host of ribbons on the man’s chest and some stuff on his shoulders. The Machine was chattering in her ear listing what the ribbons signified but Root tuned it out after she heard _General Salkov_. She stared unflinching at the man who she had been informed was in charge. The general looked down at her with his best intimidating glare.

“I don't know who the hell you think you are lady, but around here we listen when the army gives an order. You know how close you came to getting your head blown off?”

Root stared up at the officer calmly.

“General Rabin, you are known for your refusal to kill civilians unless they are an obvious and deadly threat. I felt I was in relatively little danger.”

The officer gaped at her.

“My name is Salkov, miss, I don't know how you think you know me.”

“You are publicly known as Isaac Salkov, but you were born Isaac Rabin and your mother changed her name when your great uncle was assassinated 21 years ago, in an attempt to protect you from the same forces that killed him.”

The general’s face paled as he stared at the hacker.

“You have no reason to worry about me telling anyone about your background, General. I just want you to understand that when I tell you I know something, I’m not blowing smoke. My sources are totally reliable and much of the information I’m privy to is not for public consumption. Things like your birth name.”

The general’s composure was returning, but his skepticism remained.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Number one, I have no need to tell anyone. Why would I do what I just did, which I know you saw by the way, risk my life to keep a device from causing your country untold devastation and then go ahead and cause devastation myself a different way?

“I know you are the most effective and brilliant intelligence specialist in the Middle East. In fact, I believe you would have cooperated with our operation if you hadn’t been overruled by your superiors. Your analysis of our information was spot on, unlike those who forced my group to go solo on stopping and deactivating the bomb.”

Salkov/Rabin stared at Root, stunned. He began to shake his head slowly.

“You know way too much woman, you have a spy in the Knesset or in Mossad.”

“I have ears everywhere, General. And my source of information has informed me that bringing you into the loop will be to everyone’s benefit. Your government is independent, and based on the way Israel has been betrayed by so many, for good reason.

“Stubborn independence, however is counter-productive. And that’s what I’m afraid your government has slipped into at least as far as the organization I represent is concerned. You can be our conduit to information that will work to protect your country in the future, as it did a few minutes ago.”

The general nodded and two soldiers came to her side and gently lifted the hacker to her feet.

“You’re coming with me miss, we can continue this in my office back at the Knesset.”

“Better there than Glilot Junction, but there are things I don’t wish to talk about anywhere that could have listening devices. Eventually we’ll have those conversations but for now I’ll give you the information that is able to be shared with your entire government.”

“Are you saying I can’t be trusted?”

“No, I’m telling you even your intelligence agency is not safe from some compromising. I’m actually trying to protect you and your country.”

The general led Root to his transport.

….

Six hours later, the hacker walked out of the Knesset, climbed into a nondescript SUV and rode to a local hotel. After hours of interrogation, mostly low key, she agreed to come back in the morning and finish up with a short session involving the Prime Minister and several key members of the Knesset from the two largest political parties.

The hotel the Machine had recommended had a large whirlpool bath in the suite. Root headed straight for the bath upon entering and finally allowed the day’s events to wash over her. She lay back in the water, as hot as she could stand and poured a tiny amount of bubble bath in. As the bubbles surrounded her, threatening to overflow, she felt some of the tension leave her body.

The sessions had begun combative and evolved into a civil back and forth after Root established she knew things only someone with sources she claimed to be able to access could have. She volunteered information that the heads of several departments had to confirm to themselves, so compartmentalized was the information. Only Root seemed privy to it all.

After a couple hours of mindless back and forth, the hacker finally looked at the half dozen assembled Intelligence experts and threw up her hands.

“Gentlemen we can do this stuff all night- General Salkov, you want to ask how the bomb traveled across the entire Asian continent without detection- and I don't think it did. I think several nations were complicit in allowing the bomb across borders as long as they retained plausible deniability.

“Major Horowitz, you'd like to know if there are more bombs and if I can ID the rest of those directly involved in the transport of this bomb. Short answer is we're fairly certain this is the only one that came out this way. There is a possibility of bombs smuggled out by different means and that should concern the Western European democracies and the US.

“As to ID’ing the others, they're almost exclusively low level and will most likely be dead in a couple of weeks. Each was exposed to radiation for sixteen to twenty four hours- enough to cause radiation sickness which would effectively sign their death warrants. Their own people will kill them rather than have them potentially reveal their complicity in the transport of that bomb.

“My point is gentlemen, I'm offering you intelligence equal to the best combined resources of the entire world’s top agencies. You've seen what I have access to and you know it's accurate. I'm not asking for any compensation for this access, only cooperation so if this ever happens again we don't have to basically invade your country to save your collective asses- not to mention your reputation.”

While those at the table didn't appreciate Root's tone, her message was clear and undeniable. And after some more back and forth, the six agreed the government needed to be convinced of both the accuracy of the intelligence and the necessity of Israeli cooperation.

As the hacker soaked away the stress of the day, she began to relax and allowed herself the luxury of replaying the previous night’s activities without any thought of repercussions, feelings or worries about the doctor or Tomas.  
....

Shaw and Tomas had stayed together after returning to Barcelona. The trip to the airport was only harrowing for the first ten miles. The group waited for either a call from Root or the arrival of Israeli Armed Forces to stop their leaving the country. After twenty minutes they figured neither would be coming and Tomas made the determination to leave.

Shaw thought it was wrong leaving the hacker behind, but raised no objection, deferring to the ex-jewel thief. He was the closest thing left to a command and when he called Zeke and told him to get ready for a quick takeoff, he relayed Root’s words.

“She said we needed to return to Barcelona and she’d be fine. What you’re going to do is fly us back, get a some rest and head back here with Isaac to pick her up. She was adamant that she would be OK, that the Israelis would at the least let her go within a day or two. You can get a good night’s sleep and the two of you can be back here by tomorrow afternoon.”

_I guess she’ll be alright, but what do I do now? She’s screwing up the way I function… I’m sitting here worrying about her even though she’s proved she can take care of herself. This is fucked up._

When the group boarded the Citation for the trip back to Barcelona, Shaw was still lost in thought. She headed for the seats she and Root occupied on the trip over and parked herself in the seat away from the window. She retrieved her pack from storage and placed it on the seat next to her.

The rest of the group settled into the same seats they had come over on, except for Tomas. He checked with the crew and, as the plane’s engines roared to life, approached the doctor. He picked up her bag, and looked down.

“Do you mind? I’d like to talk to you.”

Shaw stared up at the ex-thief. His shirt was stained with sweat in several places, indication of the last couple of hours. The entire group had heard the conversation between Root and Tomas inside the truck. Shaw found herself holding her breath as the comm went silent after Root gave Tomas the order of wires to be cut.

The two minutes between “Here goes” and “Shit, we’re still alive” felt like the longest two minutes she could remember. The thoughts that flashed through her mind as they waited were exclusively about the hacker. Shaw found herself holding her breath, fear creeping through her that she might never see Root again.

The sensations that coursed through her as she waited for the outcome came back to her on the ride to the airport.

_Sensations, that’s what they are- not feelings, not emotions, just sensations. Adrenaline from the operation fueled your nerves, Shaw- they’re not feelings. You don’t do feelings._

With Cole, most of Shaw’s _feelings_ for lack of a better word, were after the fact. She missed him and had a few regrets that she didn’t let him know how much she’d grown to appreciate him.

Here, she was worried about Root and after the immediate danger was passed, it annoyed her. Then, as they were heading to the airport, she was worried about leaving Root behind and, again, it annoyed her.

She believed dealing with these annoying sensations ( _not feelings, absolutely not!_ ) needed to happen before she laid eyes on the hacker again. But how best to do it?

And there, standing in front of her, asking to sit down, was the possible answer.

Shaw waved at the seat.

“Be my guest.”

The ex-jewel thief smiled and took the seat Root had occupied on the way down. He buckled in and sat in silence as the jet pulled onto the runway and began to roar down it. Once again, the sensation of the tiny jet leaping into the air surprised Shaw and they rode in silence for several minutes. About ten minutes after the wheels left the ground, Isaac stuck his head out from the cockpit.

“We’re above 15,000 feet and still climbing. However, if you need anything, you can get out of your seats now. We’ll be at 26,500 feet in a few minutes and should be back in Barcelona in less than four hours.”

Shaw glanced at her watch, which she’d deliberately left on Barcelona time. Less than twelve hours ago they’d left Spain and would be back in four. _Pretty intense day at the office if I do say so myself._

She hardly realized she was putting herself on Team Machine’s side with those words. But the adrenaline rush from the whirlwind four days had convinced her this was something she might like to give a try. The adrenaline rush, not the proximity of the temporary CEO.

_Yeah right._

….

The pair rode in silence for almost half an hour. Shaw had gotten out of her seat, grabbed some food and a beer, and sat back down. Several minutes later Tomas did the same. The couple ate in silence for several minutes. Once finished, Tomas gathered their plates and cleaned up, returning with two more Heinekens.

Shaw nodded her thanks. Tomas, after a sip of his brew, turned to the doctor.

“You did well out there today, doctor. I’m curious as to what you thought of the whole operation.”

Shaw was silent for a moment. Deciding to concentrate on the details of the operation from the time they arrived at the ambush point until they left, she made a conscious decision to keep her thoughts about the hacker, her possible future with TME and Tomas himself out of the conversation.

“Well, considering you had no backup, I think it went amazingly well. I do think any situation in the future might be better served by setting each side up with the idea of hitting the crew from both sides, rather than the driver’s side takes out the driver and the passenger’s side takes out the passenger.

“Good snipers can cover both sides and the situation where vision is obstructed on one side or the other is less likely to cause problems because each side is essentially backing up the other.”

Tomas stared at her, impressed.

“Where do you get that kind of expertise doctor?”

“Five years in the marines before my ER residency.”

Tomas’ eyes flashed with humor and suggestion.

“Well, you’re certainly not just another pretty face.”

Shaw rolled her eyes, but refrained from comment. Tomas took that as his cue to continue.

“From what I’ve seen so far, you’re the whole package- a talented operative, a successful professional and an observant mind. Not to mention you happen to be drop-dead beautiful, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“You’re spreading it on a little thick, buddy. I’m not one of your barflies you encounter in those clubs you couldn’t wait to point out yesterday.”

“Sorry, but I have to tell you, I’ve encountered few women in my life that present the way you do doctor. Quite frankly, the only one more formidable, based on my limited knowledge, than yourself, is our temporary CEO.

“And while Miss Root is both hot and talented, I think we both understand her preferences- I know I understand the enmity she views most of my gender, and especially me with.”

“That brings up an interesting issue, Tomas. Why, when she obviously doesn’t like you, does she not only keep you around, but rely on you in a situation like we just encountered?”

Tomas sat back, silent. After a moment or two he sighed and looked over at the doctor.

“Honestly, you’d have to ask her that, but I have some ideas. I think part of her appreciates the talents I do bring to the table. But even with that, she’s indicated in the past she wishes she was _allowed_ to replace me.

“Allowed, interesting choice of words isn’t it. At first I thought our founder was the reason I was kept around, however he’s been ‘on hiatus’ for the better part of a year and not once has Root indicated she plans to get rid of me.

“This is the closest I’ll ever get to a legitimate occupation. Hell, I was a jewel thief, albeit a good one for years before I was bailed out of a jam by Root and a couple of others from the irrelevant side. When they approached me about working for TME, I was surprised to put it mildly.

“I guess deep down I always wanted to be legit, but my talents seemed to lend themselves to less than honorable enterprises. This is as good as it gets for me.”

Shaw appeared to be considering what to say in response. Finally she looked over.

“Then why do you try so hard to get under her skin?”

Tomas threw his head back and laughed, loud enough that the others looked over at him with curiosity. His eyes sparkled as he glanced around the cabin, then returned his gaze to the doctor.

“I’ve always lived on the edge. I like to walk right up to it, see how close I can get without falling off. At times, it gets me in trouble, but it’s the way I am. I try to push buttons whenever and wherever I can.

“Since I can’t come on to her without becoming a cliche, I try to irritate her without crossing the line, and I’ve succeeded so far. Well mostly.”

“Is that why you’ve come on to me so hard since we first met? Trying another way to get under Root’s skin?”

Tomas actually flushed, hurt and anger filling his eyes. He growled his answer.

“Doctor, that’s a low blow. You think I came on to you because I thought it would bug Root? I have way more respect for women in general and you in particular, to use you like that. I came on to you because you’re hot, talented and mysterious- if it bugged Root, that was just a lucky coincidence.

“I have to admit, it pisses me off that you would think so little of me that I’d hit on you just to irritate someone.”

And Tomas got up and left the seat. He went to the galley, grabbed another beer and walked over to the cockpit. Several minutes passed, then he returned to the cabin, stopping to speak quietly to Gabriella. He walked back to the seat next to Shaw and reached for his backpack. Shaw reached for his arm.

The ex-thief glanced up, his face going blank but not before Shaw saw a brief flash of pain cloud his eyes.

“Look, I don't do feelings and if I hurt yours I didn't mean to.”

Tomas smiled faintly and nodded.

“I've got some work to do but we can talk more later.

So when the jet landed in Barcelona- night having once again overtaken the city, the ex-jewel thief approached Shaw once more.

“It's been one hell of a day doctor, I don't know about you but I could use a drink. Care to join me?”

Shaw only hesitated for a moment.

“What the hell, I have nothing better to do.”

Tomas shook his head as he pointed toward the parking garage.

“Don't be so enthusiastic.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allusions to sexual activity, not rising to the level of a warning for adult content (my opinion- it's a lot of implication). It is heterosexual, so if that's a trigger, skip first part to line.

 

Tomas rolled over, put his feet on the floor and reached over for his cigarettes. Pulling them from his pocket and grabbing his lighter, he leaned forward, slipped one from the pack and, leaning forward to block the flame, fired it up. As he took a deep breath, pulling the smoke deep into his lungs, Shaw’s voice came from the dark.

“Take that shit out on the balcony. You’re not fouling up my bedroom with that smell.”

Smirking to himself, he stood and approached the glass doors that led to a small patio.

“I take it you don’t want one.”

“I’m a doctor, asshole, I know what they will do to you eventually.”

Shaking his head, the ex-thief slid the patio door and stepped naked onto the patio. The fact that it was 2:00AM and they were on the top floor probably kept him from triggering a call to the front desk, but he didn’t seem to care. And in the faint light from the parking lot less than 50 feet away, his physique held Shaw’s attention briefly.

She turned away from the window and slipped into the bathroom. Leaving the lights off, she did her thing, wondering why she hadn’t kicked him out an hour ago when they finished.

_Shit, two solid hours… last time I felt something like this was, well, with a man, was when Cole and I were still together. Other than that…_

Shaw tried to put the thought that kept trying to intrude on her afterglow away, but it kept slipping in no matter how she reflected on the pleasure of the evening.

_Why can’t I get her out of my mind._

She returned to bed and was just about to suggest Tomas leave, when he returned, leaned down and tried to kiss her. She turned her head away.

“Go brush your teeth if you’re going to do that. You smell like cigarettes.”

As the darkly handsome ex-jewel thief walked to the bathroom, Shaw thought back on how the two had ended up here in her bed. Two drinks at the club Tomas recommended, then they headed back to the hotel, where he suggested one more drink.

When Shaw agreed, the headed for the bar, only to find it closed for the evening. As Shaw turned to say goodnight, Tomas held up his hand.

“I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared out the front door and returned in less than five minutes with a bottle of Tequila in one hand and a small plastic bag in the other. He held the bag up.

“Limes and salt. Want to do a couple in your room?”

Shaw knew a set up when she saw one, but she had already decided Tomas might be the cure for what was currently ailing her. She nodded and they headed up to the suite. The doctor felt a brief tinge as they walked in the suite, glancing at the door that led to Root’s bedroom, but she forced it away.

Two shots each and Tomas suggested body shots. Shaw had just enough that she didn’t consider the implications and slipped off her shirt as the darkly handsome operative did the same. A shiver ran through her as Tomas lined salt along the underside of her sports bra, slipped a small shot glass of tequila onto her navel and squeezed some lime juice onto her abdomen.

As the doctor felt her nerve endings firing, she was unaware that Tomas was taking in several bite marks and rope burns that had been hidden by the shirt Shaw wore to Israel. His mind raced as he put two and two together, trying to figure out the best way to keep the party going.

As Shaw spread a generous amount of salt on Tomas tightly muscled chest and placed the lime juice and the shot glass full of tequila on his ripped abdomen, the ex-jewel thief waited to make his move. As soon as Shaw licked the combination off his body, took the shot glass in her mouth and swallowed, he sat up, took the shot glass, grabbed her by the throat and squeezed.

Shaw’s eyes widened, then as Tomas leaned in and bit down hard on her lip, she moaned and shivered in his grip. His grip tightened, then relaxed as he moved down to her arms and squeezed hard, leaving more bruises to match the ones she had acquired the previous evening.

Tomas released her lip and soothed the bite with his tongue, then slid his mouth to Shaw’s throat and bit gently at her pulse point, then when she moaned again, increased the intensity of the bite.

It was enough.

Two hours later, the pair fell into a light slumber, only to have it disturbed when Tomas needed his nicotine fix. Shaw was still wondering why she hadn’t kicked him out when he returned to the bed, straddled her and grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head.

“Now, we’re just getting started. You’re going to do exactly what I tell you.”

Lost in the moment, Shaw was only vaguely aware of hearing those words only twenty four hours earlier.

 

* * *

 

 The Machine woke Root around 8:00 the next morning. At nine she was headed down to the lobby and out to the nondescript SUV waiting by Registration. She was pleasantly surprised to see General Salkov come around to the passenger side and open the door for her. On the ride to the Knesset, Root took the time to look the General over.

He was around six feet two inches tall with a slim, wiry build. Flashing blue eyes sparkled with intelligence from a face many would have found attractive. She knew from the Machine the history of the General. Like all Israeli youth he joined the army at 18, met and married a fighter pilot and transferred to Intelligence after she died in a training accident.

His social life consisted of casual affairs, the grief over Bekka’s death six years ago still fresh enough to keep him from considering anything other than the occasional one night stand. As part of his intelligence training, he had attended Med school in Be’er Sheva, at Ben Gurion after receiving a BS in Psychology at Tel Aviv University.

His training and lack of family since Bekk’s death made him the poster boy for intelligence. It also made him aware of the fact, that his passenger, though attractive, had little interest in men as anything other than assets. The previous day, he’d assessed the situation with a sigh.

_It’s been awhile, Isaac old boy, but you’re not making a fool out of yourself with her._

The trip from the hotel to the Knesset was less than fifteen minutes. Root looked over after five and smiled at the general.

“You’ve been a perfect gentleman, General, and I want you to know I’ve noticed. I’m told you thought about hitting on me, but your professionalism and your instincts steered you away from any approach.

“I wish more men were like you… I might have more respect for the species.”

Salkov laughed harshly at the hacker’s words.

“So you view my gender as something less than human?”

“I’ve met and loved several men in my life, none romantically of course. However, in my life I’ve come to realize that generally you have a hormonal imbalance that keeps rational thought from being one of your strengths. Too many men have the idea that if they show us members of the ‘weaker sex’ how strong and tough they are, women will fall at their feet in droves.

“Those of us who’ve evolved view that as mostly prehistoric behavior, and even the ones who are attracted physically to your gender are turned off by the caveman syndrome. They prefer the company of men more attuned to what society views as their ‘feminine’ side. To me it’s always meant they could see further than their penises.”

Salkov looked over at his passenger.

“Interesting perspective… and I must admit you’ve pegged many of my sex accurately. But don’t make the mistake of judging our gender solely on the basis of our base desire to mate, which, while powerful, doesn’t define the majority.”

Root sniffed.

“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point.”

The rest of the trip was made in silence, though not an uncomfortable one. Arrival at the Knesset was without fanfare, since the meeting was to be completely off the books. Root’s cover was a cousin of Salkov’s from the US visiting and getting the grand tour of the nation’s central government.

She received a visitor’s badge with the name Veronica Sinclair and followed the general to an unmarked elevator. He withdrew a badge from his pocket and slipped it inside a card reader. The elevator doors opened and once inside, they closed, but the lift did not move.

Salkov put his badge in another card reader, leaned forward and placed his eye on a retinal scanner. Then, after a beep sounded, punched six numbers into an electronic panel. As the elevator began to sink into the depths of the building, he turned to Root and frowned.

“We had to install the keypad after terrorists tried bypassing our retinal scanners in another facility several years ago. The took one of our officers hostage, cut out an eye and brought it along to defeat our security. It would have worked if not for them failing to store the eye in a ziplock bag. Blood leaking from the pocket of one of the attacker’s pockets was noticed by a guard just before they entered the elevator. The guard shut the lift down, and the attackers were eventually killed after refusing to surrender.

“And we got another level of security across all government facilities.”

The elevator dropped them six floors before coming to a stop. When the doors opened, they were greeted by two machine gun wielding soldiers and an officer who examined the general’s credentials and took Root’s visitor badge and slipped it into a scanner.

When the light on the scanner blinked green, he removed it, placed it inside a plastic envelope attached to a lanyard and handed it back.

“On this floor, wear this at all times miss.”

The general nodded at the hacker and led the way down a hall. Both badges were slipped into scanners this time, and an eight foot solid steel door slid open revealing a normal conference room. The table, seating ten comfortably, was empty. Salkov indicated Root should sit at the end of the table closest to the door they entered from.

As they were seated, there was an audible click across the room. Major Horowitz entered, along with two men she didn’t recognize. Finally, a late forties to early fifties woman entered and Root’s face lit up almost in spite of herself.

She stood.

“Madam Prime Minister- what an honor.”

Adina Paler was born in Cincinnati Ohio to Jewish parents who emigrated to the state of Israel when she was three. She joined the army at 18 and spent ten years as a tank commander who distinguished herself during several skirmishes with terrorist forces who periodically attacked the nations outer perimeter.

Retiring at 29, she moved to Tel-Aviv where she began practicing law until running for Parliament ten years later. She served for almost a decade, rising to her party’s leadership and had just assumed the role of PM less than ninety days previous.

She was of average height, slim build with raven hair and dark, almost black eyes that sparkled with intelligence. Despite her years, she retained most of the youthful beauty that had her fending off men and women both for most of her adult life.

Adina Paler’s love of country left no room for any life outside of her singular devotion to the nation that took her parents in and gave them a home where they could raise their only daughter in an atmosphere where her Jewish heritage wasn’t a problem. Personal relationships took a back seat to any and all things Israeli.

In that respect, she was a lot like Root. As the hacker rose to her feet, hand outstretched, she was aware of the gaze that burned into her eyes from the most powerful woman in the country since Golda Meir. Root felt her ears burning and hoped it didn’t show.

It did, but the Prime Minister allowed it to pass. She took the hacker’s hand in a grip that surprised Root with its strength. Then she further surprised the hacker by leaning in and kissing her on the cheek.

“The honor is all mine, Miss Root. It appears you’ve saved us from not only untold destruction but considerable embarrassment by your heroic actions yesterday. May I express my appreciation from a grateful nation?”

“I’m humbled, Madam Prime Minister, and I didn’t do it all by myself.”

“I realize that, and that’s why we’re meeting today. I want you to tell me all you can about how you managed to stop a threat that our best intelligence, present company excluded, managed to miss.”

She glanced over at Salkov and Horowitz, who were pointedly ignoring the other two men who’d entered before the Prime Minister. Those two were staring at the table, expressions unreadable.

The next few minutes were spent listening to the two bureaucrats bob me weave trying to duck responsibility for something that they were clearly responsible for. Finally, the PM had had enough.

“Mr. Fuerstein, Mr. Lowell- we can do this all day but it doesn't change the facts. You were presented with a threat that proved credible and chose to ignore it because you were unsure about the source. Ms. Root here is offering us access to her intel _no strings attached_ and right now you two are letting your stubborn pride get in the way.

“I expect your departments to treat any intel provided through TME Corporation as credible until further notice. We will re-evaluate in six months or such time as it proves necessary. You're dismissed.”

As the pair headed for the door, the PM had one parting shot.

“And gentlemen, don't give me another reason to replace you.”

The pair left the room without comment.

Adina Paler turned to Horowitz and Salkov.

“I need to speak with Miss Root privately gentlemen, could you excuse us? If you'd like you can head down to the cafeteria, this won't take more than an hour.”

The men stood, nodded at Root, then at the PM and left the room. Ms. Paler stood also and nodded toward the door she’d entered from.

“Follow me please.”

Root stood and walked toward the door. As the Prime Minister reached it she opened it, stood back and indicated Root should enter. The hacker hesitated, then went through the door, conscious of the woman’s aura. Her mere presence was unsettling to the hacker, who found herself enthralled at the attention this famous and powerful woman had bestowed on her.

The pair stepped through the doorway and into a spacious office. The desk was about eight feet long- behind it a credenza with a coffee service neatly laid out with only two cups. The Prime Minister indicated a couch that ran along the far wall of the office. It was leather with a polished oak coffee table in front.

“Please sit down. May I get you a cup of coffee. I hate to drink alone.”

“Thank you.”

Paler went to the credenza and returned with a silver tray with the two cups and a silver pot. She set it down and went back to the credenza, returning with cream and sugar on a smaller, matching tray.

“I believe you drink it with enough cream and sugar to make one wonder if it’s even coffee, isn’t that correct?”

The words were delivered with a smile so genuine, there was no sting at all to the PM’s gentle teasing. Root, charmed, blushed and nodded. Paler filled both cups, Roots at least an inch lower than hers, then sat down only a foot or so from the hacker.

Root’s heart beat faster as the most powerful woman in the Mideast, and possibly the world, picked up her cup and sipped, all the while gazing into the hacker’s eyes. Root saw so much there, and recognized the look as the same one she had used on Shaw just over a week ago.

_Shaw._

The name brought her back to reality. What was going on here? What was going on there? Had she read this situation correctly? And if so, what did that mean as far as her and the doctor were concerned.

Adina, sensing Root’s hesitation, took the lead.

“May I call you Root? Miss Root seems so formal.”

“Of course. I actually prefer it. I allow the ‘Miss’ part because it seems to give the employees of TME comfort to have someone they can treat as their leader in Harold’s absence.”

“Thank you. Root, I have sources all over the world, I can get intelligence on most things that go on, and most people. And yet, in spite of my contacts and my network, you managed to uncover a threat to my country, present it to my government and, when we ignored you, you got into our country and saved us in spite of ourselves.

“I needed to know more about you. I’ve had every contact in every part of the world searching for information on you… and I came up with a few things. I’d like to discuss some of what I’ve discovered with you, and see if we can come to a place where we can help ourselves in the future.”

Root smiled, feeling more confident talking business with the PM.

“Thanks, but I’ve already agreed to put our resources to work helping your intelligence agencies. I’m not sure what else you could need.”

Paler set her coffee down and reached over, placing her hand on Root’s knee. Heat radiated from the touch.

“Root, I’d like you to consider working for me, and of course for Israel. I consider my current position a calling- I will do anything and everything to protect this country. You could be a formidable asset, one who could go a long way toward insuring Israel’s long term security.

“I know some of your past and yet have seen what you can do to manipulate information in keeping most of that past beyond the reach of most. What you’re doing now is important, yet Israel’s position in the world is a precarious one, and you could go a long way to helping us survive the attacks that are coming in the near future.

“I’d like you to think about coming to work as my personal assistant. I’ve seen your abilities and I believe you could help me keep this country together during this time of turmoil. Please give it some thought.”

Root glanced away, then returned her gaze to the face of the Prime Minister.

“I’m honored Madam Prime Minister, however, I believe what I’m doing right now will help you and your country more than anything I could do working here for you. You’ll have all the information your country needs to remain secure, and I’m accessible immediately if anything threatening your nation comes on our radar.”

Paler smiled as if she knew what Root’s answer would be before she spoke.

“I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. I hoped we could work together for many reasons, your professional skills being only one.”

Root blushed at the implication and innuendo in Adina’s voice.

_Well, there was more to this, just as you thought._

The hacker hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. The PM took that as an opening to forge ahead.

“I do hope we can continue to meet regularly. I’d like to know more, both about the way you come by your intelligence…. and you.”

And her hand returned to the hacker’s knee. The heat was undeniable, but Root’s mind was on a certain doctor a couple thousand miles away.

_You don’t even know what she’s doing- and you don’t know what she’s thinking._

Shaw’s words, her comment that she didn’t do sleepovers, her three night rule and her obvious interest in Tomas battled with Root’s sense that there was more than just a one night stand defining whatever they had.

A part of her wanted to drive feelings surrounding a certain doctor away, yet something kept the hacker from accepting the unspoken invitation in Paler’s comment. At least immediately- her mind raced to come up with a reply that would keep the door open without saying something that might be viewed as encouraging another come on.

“I’d love to meet with you again, Madam Prime Minister. Maybe during the next few weeks we can discuss our next meeting and whether it would be best to have it off the record so as to keep any speculation about Israel’s relationship with TME Corporation from gaining traction.”

Paler’s face showed a flash of disappointment, before she regained her composure. She stood, then walked back to her desk, returning with a small slip of paper.

“I want to thank you for taking time to meet with me, Root. This is my personal cell phone, it has no connection to anything officially tied to government. You’re welcome to get in touch with me to keep our communications off the record. When we can arrange a mutually acceptable time, I’d like to get together with you again to discuss things further.”

Her look indicated the invitation was for either business or personal issues. Root fell back on her diplomatic persona in an attempt to buy time.

“I’m honored Madam Prime Minister, and I will be in touch. We have so much to discuss.”

She smiled at the PM with a smile she hoped indicated more than professional interest. From the slight flush that tinged Adina’s cheeks and the shy smile that widened as she once again leaned in and kissed Root’s cheek, the hacker had succeeded.


	12. Chapter 12

Root’s mind was swirling as she headed back to the hotel. The obvious come on from one of the world’s most powerful women coupled with her recent encounter with Shaw left her conflicted and forced her to consider the implications of her feelings regarding the doctor.

_Physically we clicked. Emotionally, she’s stuck in her insistence that she’s a sociopath with no feelings when the reality is she has them but seems to force herself to mute them. It’s almost as is she’s turned the volume down deliberately. Maybe the trauma of her father’s death… And what about my own feelings about this? I know something’s there, but maybe I’m emotionally stuck as well._

Her thoughts remained on the Persian during the time it took to gather her things and return to the general’s vehicle for the trip to the airport. By the time she arrived the Citation was waiting, and within five minutes of her boarding, they were headed back to Barcelona. As the Mediterranean slid by five miles below and the coast of Spain got closer, Root realized the clarity she sought was sliding further and further away.

The hacker turned her thoughts to Prime Minister Adina Paler and the meeting and implications that came out of that meeting.

_She all but offered herself to me with the look on her face and the words she said and left unsaid. She’s the most powerful woman in the world… well one of them, and she’s interested in you._

Her thoughts then turned back to the doctor.

_Are you seriously considering encouraging and acting on the Prime Minister’s interest for what it is or are you covering your bases if Shaw’s running around with Tomas and is more interested in him than you? And would it be better if she were?_

_And have you thought about Shaw’s reaction if you and the PM were to get together, and what any relationship with Adina might mean to her?_

_And, finally, why are you spending so much time considering this? Are you worried about how your actions might impact a potential relationship with the doctor?_

_You don’t do relationships._

….

Shaw had awakened around noon, having finally thrown Tomas out after another 90 minutes of intense activity. She felt almost nothing, even as the ex-jewel thief’s face fell when she responded to his asking her to consider staying back in Barcelona after Root left with a simple shake of her head.

“For what? You’re hot, but I don’t do feelings. In fact I’m not sure why I didn’t send you packing after the first round. But you need to go home… and I need sleep.”

She awakened to a nagging feeling that she couldn’t identify. The feeling grew as she dressed and headed down to the first floor where she exited the hotel and spent the next forty minutes running five miles in an attempt to try and clear her head.

It wasn’t until she returned to the hotel and went straight up to the room, that she realized what that nagging feeling was and who it pertained to. As she showered off the run, and attempted to shower off the memory of the previous night, it hit her with the force of a body blow.

_Regret, you’re feeling regret. You think you may have fucked up and now you’re regretting it. You’re worried that you won’t be able to keep it from her and you think it will hurt her._

_And…. it bothers you._

The doctor spent much of the next couple of hours thinking about how best to talk to Root about what had happened and why. After visualizing some scenarios and then discarding them she had an epiphany.

_You're trying to excuse and justify what happened instead of analyzing why it happened. Maybe this is just what the doctor (oh please) ordered and it will give both of you space._

Shaw was lost in thought and lost track of time. She found herself standing near the fridge drinking a bottle of water when she heard a click as the lock on the room’s door opened. She looked up to see Tomas standing just outside.

“What the hell? They gave you a key just because you damn near spent…..”

Her voice trailed off as she saw the figure standing behind him.

….

Root exited the plane and walked to the SUV Zeke and Isaac had left early that morning. Climbing in the back she asked them to take her to the TME building. She took the elevator to the top floor and headed for the executive suite. She grabbed a suitcase from the closet in the bedroom of the suite and headed back down to the lobby.

As the elevator reached the lobby and the doors opened, Root looked into the eyes of Tomas, who had just arrived. His face showed just enough guilt to confirm what Root suspected from the first time he and Shaw had laid eyes on each other was a possibility.

_You have no claims on her._

Jealousy and the rational thought that there were no agreements between her and the doctor battled for control. Root exercised the singular focus that allowed her to ignore the screaming of her body in pain when Control had tortured her years before to tamp down the angst, leaving it deep inside until such time as was appropriate to consider what it all meant.

“Tomas, perfect timing. I need you to take me back to my hotel room. I have to shower and get to the airport in less than four hours. Dr. Shaw will come along, but she will be taking a different flight, back to New York. I’m needed in Seoul to work through how that bomb got to Israel, and the more immediate question- are there more out there?

“We can take your car, Zeke and Isaac have another assignment.”

Tomas stared at her, suspecting from the look on her face that he was caught, and scrambled for an excuse not to go back to that suite.

“I was just headed home, I forgot something when I….”

Root interrupted with a shake of her head.

“I’m not going to beat you up about your personal life, Tomas. Just take me back there and get us to the airport. Unless you think you’ve cast a spell on the doctor and she’s going to stay here just so the two of you can do whatever you’re on the way to or have started.”

The ex-jewel thief gaped at the hacker, who laughed softly.

“Tomas, you’re talented and you proved over the last couple of days that you are important, maybe even critical to the success of the team over here. But your acting skills, at least as far as this is concerned, leave much to be desired.

“Now I don’t want to discuss _any_ of your relationships. I want you to take me back to the hotel, hang out while I shower off the trip back here, and get me or us to the airport. You two can talk while I get ready if that’s what suits you.”

Root, for all her bravado, didn’t realize the slight edge that sharpened that last sentence.

Tomas, defeated, shrugged his shoulders and reached for the hacker’s suitcase. A smile, with just a hint of triumph in it, painted Root’s face as she allowed the ex-thief to take it. As they walked to the car, her thoughts were once again conflicted.

_That was petty but… the asshole deserved it._

….

The ride to the hotel was made in silence. Root pondering her situation as far as two women were concerned, Tomas feeling caught between both Shaw and the hacker, who he had no trouble reminding himself, was his boss. As they arrived at the hotel, the ex-thief tried one last time to avoid the inevitable confrontation.

“I’ll wait down here for the two of you. I haven’t had any lunch today and I’ll go into the dining room, eat and wait for you to come down.”

“We’ll need help with the bags, I’ll order room service… come on.”

Tomas followed the hacker to the elevator, stepped in and pushed the button for their floor.

_The condemned man heads toward his execution._

They stepped off the elevator and headed toward the suite. Root handed him her key.

“Would you mind? I’m in the middle of texting the people I’m meeting in Seoul.”

Tomas reluctantly took the keycard and fed it into the slot. As it clicked open he pushed the door back and hesitated. His eyes fell on Shaw in the dinette area, bottle of water in her hand. She stared at the man she’d tossed a few hours earlier and her eyes narrowed.

“What the hell? They gave you a key just because you damn near spent…..”

As Shaw’s voice trailed off, Tomas hung his head, took a deep breath and walked into the room, dragging Root’s suitcase behind him. As his head came back up and he looked the doctor in the eyes, he noted hers widening in shock and embarrassment. Feeling the trap tightening, he walked over to the door of Root’s room, left the suitcase next to it, returned to the couch and pointedly turned on the TV. He sat down and focused on the screen.

….

Shaw could feel her ears reddening as her gaze went from the ex-jewel thief to the hacker. She looked into Root’s eyes, fearing what she’d see there. Surprisingly, after a brief look of sadness, Root smiled at the doctor and headed for her room.

“I’m on a plane to South Korea in less than four hours, your flight leaves about 20 minutes after mine… unless you want to stay here another day or… whatever.

“I see Tomas had no trouble figuring out who’s rooms belonged to whom.”

And she grabbed her bag, opened the door and went in, closing it softly as both stared at her retreating figure until it disappeared. Once the door closed, Shaw turned her gaze on the ex-thief, her eyes flashing anger.

“You couldn’t give me a heads up?”

Tomas stared back, exasperated.

“She’s been standing right next to me from the time we ran into each other in the lobby of the office building. What was I supposed to do? Excuse myself to call you on a number you never gave me?”

Shaw shook her head.

“Fuck!”

She headed for her room.

“I’m going to shower and pack.”

….

The ride to the airport was made in silence, despite the air being thick with unresolved issues. After pulling over and grabbing both Root and Shaw’s bags from the rear compartment of Koroa’s SUV, Tomas stood uncertain of how to extricate himself from the uncomfortable situation.

Root came to his rescue.

“Tomas, thank you. Your actions during the operation were professional and went above and beyond. I’m going in and I’ll meet you inside in a couple of minutes, Doctor.”

And she was gone, walking through the automatic doors without a backward glance. Tomas’ crooked smile shifted from Root’s back to Shaw’s face as he realized the hacker was giving them a moment to themselves. He took a deep breath.

“Shaw, I wanted to say…”

He got no further when the doctor cut him off.

“Look Tomas, we had fun, no doubt about it but, as I told you, I don’t do relationships. I also may have made a mistake by using you in an attempt to fix a personal issue. I told you I don’t do feelings and, if my actions the last day or so hurt yours, I apologize.

“If our paths cross down the line, there will be no ‘for old times sake’… what happened, happened and it won’t happen again.

“Goodbye.”

And the doctor turned and walked away, leaving the ex-jewel thief standing and staring at her back, wondering if anything he could have done would have changed the way their brief time ended.

….

Root was waiting near the ticket kiosks as Shaw came through the same doors less than two minutes later. She had deliberately kept her back to the couple after leaving them alone so she was somewhat surprised at the doctor’s sudden appearance at her side. She started as Shaw began to speak.

“Listen Root, I want to….”

She got no further, when Root held up her hand.

“Here’s your boarding pass. My plane will begin boarding in a half hour, yours a few minutes later. We’re in terminal T1. I’m flying Korean Air, you’ll be on Air France. We need to get moving, security is over there.”

“Root, I think we need to talk about what I said when you guys showed up earlier, I… “

“Dr. Shaw, you owe me no explanations, what you do on your own time is your business.”

“But..”

“Look, I have to go to South Korea to see if we can put North Korea’s nuclear genie back in the bottle. You should head back, do some serious thinking about what you want to do with your future and, if you decide to join us, let your current employer know that you’ll be leaving them.

“Your actions in Israel confirmed our decision to approach you. The rest is up to you. I’d like to continue our little ‘recruitment tour’ but I’m needed elsewhere. I have work to do and you have a choice to make.

“What happened in Barcelona was a mistake. You told me you don’t do relationships and I have little time for what they require. Let’s just chalk that up to our hormones getting the best of us. We should say goodbye here and head for our separate gates.

“And, by the way, I agree with Her impressions of you. You’d be a perfect fit for our irrelevant side.”

Shaw swallowed her disappointment and stared defiantly into the hacker’s eyes.

“Why not the relevant side?”

“Look, Shaw, I work alone, and quite frankly, the relevant side has hours of boredom followed by moments of action. We sift through the Machines alerts and most of our time is spent dispensing them to the proper agencies. Our little excursion to Israel was a situation that occurs very rarely on the relevant side.

“Quite frankly, you’d be bored and it would be a waste of your talents.”

“Do you ever get bored?”

“No but I have an all-seeing AI in my ear, in my head. She keeps me amused.

“I hope you’ll decide to join us, doctor, but either way, you’ll always have a place in my heart… my hero. Thanks for saving my life. I only wish…. ah…. take care of yourself.”

And the hacker turned and walked toward Security, but not before Shaw saw something in her eyes that she thought she recognized because she was feeling it as well.

_Sadness and a little hurt. Maybe that’s what I’m feeling too._

_Or maybe I’m just hungry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of Part One. It seemed like a good place to break this off. I have some other things on my plate, but I'm certain I'll continue this at some point. Any comments would certainly help feed my creativity. I hope you enjoyed this so far, and we'll see where it goes from here, if anywhere.  
> Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 begins. To anyone who’s still along for the ride, thank you. I’ve dealt with computer issues, writer’s block and a slight adjustment in where I originally thought this was going to go. I think I’m back on track but as I’ve said before in a few of these stories, I don’t know if I’m calling the shots anymore. As always your comments fuel my productivity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shaw joins TME and both find out there’s a roadblock from that first week that just won’t go away.

“Shaw, over here- Zoe’s down.”

Weston’s voice held a tinge of panic. Shaw headed toward the back of the warehouse where she saw the man standing, pale with beads of sweat streaking his face, over the figure of the third member of their team. Morgan lay on her back, eyes open, face contorted in pain, struggling to take a breath.

Shaw bent down, checked the bullet wound that had entered less than an inch above her vest. She then gently took Zoe’s cheek and turned her head slightly so she was looking into the former doctor’s eyes.

“I’m going to turn you slightly, Zoe. I’m pretty sure it’s a through and through, but I need to see if the bullet is still in you.”

Zoe’s face was contorted in pain, but she nodded faintly.

“Go ahead… but be careful…. hurts.”

“The best kind hurt, Zoe. The bad ones put you in shock right away and the pain is dulled. Take a deep breath… here we go.”

Zoe hissed as Shaw turned her, then returned her to her back and gently lowered her to the floor. She held Morgan’s hand and looked down into her eyes.

“The bullet went through, and the good news is it didn’t hit any bone, just flesh and muscle. The bad news is I need to stem the bleeding before we can move you and we don’t have a lot of time. The Machine notified the cops once the shooting started and they’ll be here in less than ten minutes.

“I’m going to put a temporary fix over the two holes, then Weston here is going to carry you to the car. We’ll head back to the office and fix you up there, it’s closer than Tillman’s clinic. This is a fairly simple wound to stitch up, but it will hurt like hell until I can get a topical in you.”

Zoe shut her eyes and took several deep breaths.

“Get to it then, I don’t want to explain my stupidity to anyone but Root.”

Shaw hesitated at the mention of the hacker’s name, but not long enough for the others to notice. She grabbed some gauze, Hydrogen Peroxide and tape and rinsed and plugged the holes in her teammate’s shoulder. It took less than five minutes, but was probably more painful than it could have been due to the time crunch.

Weston picked Zoe up and the three headed out the rear of the warehouse to the Dodge Challenger they had stolen for the operation. Shaw chaffed at not being able to fully utilize the Hellcat’s 700 plus horsepower as the three agents of the Machine disappeared into the night.

“What’s the point of stealing a rocket ship when I have to drive it like a school bus?”

Less than fifteen minutes later, the three arrived at TME’s headquarters where Weston once again picked his teammate up and carried her into the building. As the second set of steel doors opened, Shaw looked up in surprise to see Jason Greenfield standing by a gurney. The former doctor started giving orders immediately.

“Blake, back outside and get rid of the car. We’re done then, you can make your report in the morning. Jason, if you can help me push this thing down to the infirmary without losing our patient or hitting a wall, I’d appreciate it.”

“Harsh Shaw, really harsh.”

The former doctor, now asset didn’t know exactly why she enjoyed getting under the skin of Greenfield or, for that matter, the rest of the Nerd Herd, as she had named them. The others, Dazio and Daniel Casey were always complaining she rode them unmercifully whenever they ran into each other at the warehouse that served as the corporate office.

Shaw did enjoy pulling their collective chains, and the reason might have had something to do with the person they directly reported to, the hacker who still wore the title “Interim CEO” despite everyone’s knowledge that Harold was never coming back. Root was in charge and Shaw picked at her little harem of nerds because she almost never had the opportunity to interact with the hacker herself.

In the months since her recruitment, Shaw had seen little of the woman who’d intrigued, excited and troubled the former doctor turned TME asset ever since they had met. The tiny Persian had proved to be TME’s best acquisition since Root herself came into the family years ago, yet her interaction with the hacker proved sparse and unsatisfying.

Root almost seemed to be avoiding her recruit after the initial week of traveling to the midwest and then to Europe and Israel. While Shaw was racing through orientation and training, the hacker seemed to always be on the road. This despite assurances from all Shaw encountered that their interim CEO was a “hands on” executive, always interacting with the members of Team Machine, as they called themselves.

_She hasn’t been hands on with me… well at least since that night in Barcelona._

Shaw had reflected on the trip to Barcelona many times since returning alone to New York and agreeing to join TME Corporation. She was torn- there were times she knew, absolutely knew, that the way things ended at the airport was the way it should have been. The two of them were a potential disaster, and keeping their distance was the best way to avoid the shit storm Shaw was certain would be the end result.

Then there were nights, many nights, when the former doctor couldn’t get the gorgeous, long-legged woman out of her head. Those nights usually ended with Shaw going for an early morning run to work off the tension and frustration that unfortunately only worsened when she tried to take matters into her own hands so to speak.

 _You spent a few days together, since there’s been little to no contact other than a few meetings with more than a dozen teammates and several chance encounters in the hall._  Root never stopped to talk, only smiled and nodded, limiting any verbal communication to “good morning” or something equally banal.

The only time there was more than a brief nod and “hi” was a couple weeks ago when Shaw encountered the hacker at the shooting range. It was past midnight, Shaw had just returned from stopping a gang banger from killing his girlfriend who had turned states evidence rather than take the fall for her abuser.

When Shaw burst into her apartment and saw the would be drug kingpin with his hands around the young girl’s throat, she saw red. Instead of holding him at gunpoint, zip-tying him and leaving him for the police, she deliberately and obviously put her gun back in its holster and walked up to the thug.

“Somebody needs to teach you some manners.”

As the gang-banger turned, snarling, Shaw hit him once in the solar plexus. His face went white and he crumpled to the ground whimpering. Shaking her head, Shaw zip-tied him and called Detective Fusco, TME’s asset inside the NYPD. Once assured he was going to take care of the cleanup, Shaw got the number out of her apartment and into a halfway house for safekeeping.

All the way back to TME’s headquarters, she mumbled to herself, “should have shot him, should have shot him.” Her anger led her down to the range where she tried to tamp down her rage by annihilating several paper targets.

Forty five minutes later, her frustrations abated, she turned to walk out of the soundproofed room only to realize she was being observed by the tall beauty who’d sailed into her life months ago and seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her subconscious.

“Root.”

The hacker smiled at the tiny Persian, her expression wistful. She remained outside the double doors that kept sounds from damaging unprotected ears until Shaw exited the range. Shaw nodded at the interim CEO.

“Didn’t think I’d see anyone down here this late.”

Root gazed into the former doctor’s eyes. Her expression got inside Shaw in a way that caused a warmth to spread through the new team member’s body, starting in her lower abdomen and spreading. Shaw could feel her cheeks reddening. As Shaw began to break down her weapon to give it a thorough cleaning, Root started for the range.

“I just got back from Singapore, still on Asian time. Thought I’d take this opportunity to stay sharp. I don’t like to shoot when there’s anyone else out there, my style requires two empty lanes together.”

Shaw looked at the hacker, confusion etched on her face.

“Why?”

“I’ll show you.”

Root went into the range area, set up targets on both lanes, and ran them out as far as they could go. She then put on her safety glasses, put the muffs over her ears and pulled _two_  guns from a case. Loading both, she took a position that was straddling the two lanes and several feet behind where most would stand.

As she raised both guns at the same time, Shaw shook her head, muttering.

“Lame.”

As she continued to watch the hacker, she was stunned to see both weapons exploding simultaneously and rapidly as Root fired without any adjustments that Shaw could see. After less than ten seconds, the gunfire abruptly ended, and Root brought both targets back to check her work. Shaw removed a pair of binoculars she used for long distance shooting and checked the targets. Each appeared to have exactly ten holes in the head of the paper target, accuracy that Shaw grudgingly admitted was beyond even the former Marine sniper’s level of expertise.

“OK that was kind of hot.”

When she put the binoculars away, she saw that Root was staring at her with a smirk on her face. Caught, Shaw hurriedly finished cleaning her weapon and left before the hacker could begin another round. As she left the range area, she shot a look over her shoulder at the woman who’d recruited her and saw Root still staring, but the smirk had been replaced by a look Shaw thought she recognized since she thought she herself had worn that look a few times when she’d thought about the hacker.

_This is dangerous… but damn she’s hot and I want her- again._

The memory flashed through Shaw’s mind as Jason and her wheeled Zoe to the infirmary. Shaw immediately went to the locked cabinet, removed her key and opened it. Grabbing some anesthetic, she took a syringe and filled it.

Greenfield had expertly removed the bandage and gently swabbed the entry wound with Peroxide. Shaw quickly shot her teammate up at the point of entry, then repeated the procedure on the exit wound. She sat back waiting for the color to return to Zoe’s face, an indicator that the pain reliever was working.

Five minutes later she began stitching the wounds and ten minutes after that she placed bandages over her handiwork and went to clean up. Greenfield, who had assisted through the procedure came over and stood next to her, cleaning himself up. Shaw glanced over.

“You did well, nerd, but don’t tell anyone I said so. It might spoil my image.”

Greenfield smiled to himself, then looked over at the former doctor, turned TME asset. He stared at her briefly, as if arguing with himself. After almost a full minute he shook his head and turned to face her.

“Can you explain to me why every time your name comes up in our meetings, Root gets this look on her face that no one has ever seen before? It’s usually only there for a split second, however when it happens, Dazio, Casey and I always glance over and there it is. Casey’s the one who brought it up because, you may not know, he has a massive crush on our boss despite everyone knowing her proclivities.

“I swear he’d carry her across quicksand and willingly get sucked under if it made her look at him with anything other than pity. She knows- hell she hacks people as easily as she hacks computers so she knows; but she doesn’t give him jazz about his feelings because he isn’t a jerk about it.

“But he watches her, you know? He tries not to creep on her, but whenever he can, he watches her. And he noticed the look over a couple of weeks when you were still in training. When he mentioned it to us, we started watching too, and I finally teased him- ‘it’s the same look you get every time we mention Root, or whenever she walks into a room you’re in.’

“He didn’t talk to me for several days, truth hurts you know? But the fact remains, she’s got something for you, Shaw, and none of us can understand it because as you’ve so eloquently put it time after time, you ‘don’t do feelings or relationships.’

“So we’re curious, what gives with you and our ‘temporary’ CEO? I guess I don’t expect an answer, but your telling me I did OK surprised me like you’re human and I figured ‘what the hell’, the worst that can happen is you’ll go back to being the cold, unfeeling robot that can deliver bad news to a patient’s family while eating a sandwich.”

Shaw stood stone-faced while Greenfield waxed poetic about the hacker’s behavior in meetings, not because she was irritated, but because it sent her reeling. Since the two parted company in Barcelona, Shaw had assumed her behavior with Tomas coupled with her stated desire to not get involved was why Root and her had spoken barely a couple dozen words in the past several months, except for the night at the shooting range.

The idea that the hacker might still be interested in her surprised her, however it also sent a shiver through her that she was reluctant to acknowledge. She knew, despite her consistent declarations of Axis II etc. that TME’s temporary CEO had gotten under her skin and remained there no matter how Shaw had tried to deny it or remedy it.

_You don’t do feelings, Shaw, but what is what goes on every time you think about her? She’s hot, we’ve established that. But it goes beyond that and one of these days, it’s going to have to be dealt with or you’re going to have to figure out a way to put a stop to this._

Greenfield was staring at the former doctor wondering what was coming. Shaw was trembling slightly and her face was set almost stone-like, leaving Jason to wonder if he’d set off a delayed explosion that was going to rain shit down all over him before the end of the night. His surprise when she turned and walked off without a word left him dumbstruck.

As Shaw turned to go back to talk to Zoe, Greenfield realized she neither exploded nor explained, leaving him feeling vaguely dissatisfied.

“So I guess that’s a firm ‘none of your business.’”

….

On the far side of the infirmary, Shaw was checking on Zoe.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been shot.”

Morgan smiled weakly. Shaw shook her head then smiled.

“Can you sit up? If so, I’d like to get you home and set up so you can get the rest you need to recover. I’ve grabbed some antibiotics for you so you don’t have to get a prescription filled. I’ll let Dr. Tillman know she needs to see you and make sure I didn’t miss anything. We’ll stop on the way and get you some food so you won’t need to leave your apartment for the next couple of days.”

Zoe groaned as Shaw helped her sit up, but made it and nodded.

“I’m OK- let’s get out of here.”

Shaw helped Zoe to a wheelchair and wheeled her out of the infirmary and headed for the back where her temporary wheels were parked. On their way out they passed Greenfield who had finished cleaning up and was putting the infirmary back together before heading home for the night.

“Thanks, Jeff, I appreciate your helping Shaw patch me up.”

“De nada, Zoe, I’m glad you’re OK…. Doctor.”

He nodded at Shaw, who smiled faintly.

“Once again, Greenfield, nice work.”

He stared at the new asset as she wheeled Morgan toward the back.

“I’d tell Dazio and Casey, but they’d never believe it. She _can_ be human.”

Zoe was feeling the effects of the drugs and anesthesia Shaw had administered. She was awake, but definitely not alert. Her head rested on her chest when they got to Shaw’s ride, a twenty year old Tahoe that had seen better days, but had the advantage of not being stolen, at least not from a private party. The salvage yard wouldn’t notice it missing for at least another week.

Shaw threw a sheet over the back seat, helped Zoe get in and lay down. She then drove slowly and carefully during the twenty minutes it took to get to Morgan’s apartment. The former doctor helped her teammate to the elevator and then, when she appeared to be about to faint, carried her to her apartment door.

Twenty minutes later, having gotten Zoe situated, Shaw headed back down to the first floor and climbed in the SUV. As she drove toward her apartment, the thoughts that Zoe’s treatment had temporarily driven from her mind came back, and with a vengeance.

_Is my Root problem resurfacing? Did it ever go away? What do I do about it?_

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important conversation that may be overdue.

Root entered TME’s headquarters the next morning preparing to hit the road after her morning meetings. She didn’t need to read any reports to know what had happened to Zoe during the latest irrelevant number’s operation. Anthony Berenz, millionaire hedge fund manager, had gotten himself in some trouble when he “borrowed” funds from the wrong client to cover a brief shortfall due to a gambling debt.

The account belonged to Benjamin “Bennie” D’Acquisto, known to the New York crime families as Bennie the Jet, the bookkeeper who laundered money with such speed and accuracy the funds were said to be moving like they were “jet-propelled”. Berenz had mistakenly moved money that belonged to D’Acquisto into a personal fund and by the time he replaced it less than twenty-four hours later, the Jet had washed most of the funds and realized there was a six-figure gap in what he’d put in versus what came out.

When he checked again the next day, the money had reappeared, however it raised a red flag and Berenz was targeted as a man to whom a lesson needed to be taught. As the Jet said when he sent the crew to deliver the message,

“No one ‘borrows’ from the Families, even for a day. Take his pinkie finger, and tell him it will be his whole hand if it happens again.”

The Machine accurately predicted that the crew sent would encounter Berenz during a family event and that there was a possibility that his innocent two children could be caught in the crossfire. When Shaw, Zoe and Blake Weston arrived at the warehouse they found the kids huddled in a corner guarded by two of the crew.

Shaw managed to get the kids away from their two captors and into a car driven by another of TME’s assets for return to their home. As she was returning to the warehouse to extricate both Berenz and her two teammates, shots rang out from the rear of the building.

Several wise guys lay on the floor of the warehouse, knees ripped apart by bullets. The bad news was Zoe got hit by a random shot that barely missed hitting her vest which would have only left a nasty bruise. The good news was that Shaw was there and triaged Morgan before transporting her to the infirmary located inside the building Root had just entered, then stitched her up and took her home to recuperate.

Root felt unsettled as she listened to the Machine recount the activities in the warehouse and Shaw’s actions after. The former doctor had, in the three months since her training had ended, proved herself not only competent, but one of the most efficient assets to join TME since the war with Samaritan ended.

While pleased, Root couldn’t shake the feeling that Shaw’s presence on TME’s team was something that she needed to reconcile with the feelings that ran through her every time she heard about her or read a report the Machine periodically generated on her activities. Her reactions to Shaw and her memories of a particular night in Barcelona kept intruding on the clear focus she prided herself on at all times.

_Once the trip to Israel and South Africa is finished, I need to deal with this Shaw issue._

….

Shaw was late getting to the office that morning, having stopped at Zoe’s to check on her before heading in. As she arrived, Dr. Megan Tillman was finishing examining Morgan. The doctor looked up as Shaw entered, smiling as she recognized the still fairly recent recruit.

“Shaw, nice job stitching her up. I might not have done better myself. She’ll be up and about in a couple of days, and I think ready to get shot again within two weeks.”

She looked down at Morgan, who was smirking despite the pain.

“Dr. Tillman says all of us should go around with targets painted on our chests, the way we’re always requiring her services.”

Shaw smiled faintly and walked up to Zoe, who was resting in a recliner with a loose teeshirt and sweatpants. Her wound had been inspected, cleaned and redressed, and the patient appeared to be in good spirits despite the wound.

_Painkillers must be doing their job._

“I just wanted to check on you to make sure you’re doing OK, Zoe, I’m on my way to the office.”

Zoe reached for the former doctor’s hand.

“Would you stay a minute? I’d like to talk to you. Dr. Tillman, thank you for stopping.”

Tillman, realizing she was being politely dismissed, smiled and put her medical supplies in a backpack, picked up her coat and headed for the door.

“I’ll be back day after tomorrow, Zoe. You have my number if you need anything before then. Nice seeing you Shaw.”

Both nodded at the doctor as she opened the front door and stepped out into the hallway. As the door closed, Shaw looked at Zoe, the question in her eyes. The injured woman smiled and pointed at the couch.

“I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

“What about it?”

“I heard your conversation with Greenfield, Shaw. I heard him ask you about Root and her feelings for you. I saw your reaction. And I knew I had to talk to you about the situation- even though it’s none of my business.”

Shaw’s eyes flashed.

“You’re right, it’s none of…..”

Undaunted, the injured woman plowed forward.

“Look, I get it. You’re the tough former ISA killer, former Marine, former doctor who doesn’t do emotions, doesn’t do relationships. You play that role to perfection Shaw, but it’s an act- at least as far as our temporary CEO is concerned… no let me finish.

“I saw the look in your eyes when you turned away from Greenfield last night. You weren’t angry, you weren’t unaffected- no, you were shaken. You had the same look I’ve seen in Root’s eyes when your name comes up.

“It’s a look of someone who’s scared… scared of their feelings, scared that they’ve met someone who rocked their world but are afraid they’ll either fuck it up or never figure out a way to even try.”

The former doctor had been looking out the window, reluctant to meet Zoe’s gaze. At this, her head snapped around and she glared at the woman she’d just patched up like she was going to undo the repair work and leave her bleeding on the floor of her apartment.

“I’m not afraid of anything, Morgan. I don’t know where you get this bullshit from. I’m a sociopath, I don’t do feelings. And even if I did, she’s the CEO, she’s on the relevant side- always out of the country- we live in different universes. We, we could… we could never….”

Her voice trailed off as the lump in her throat kept her from saying any more, concerned her voice was about to break and unfamiliar with the thoughts that had started swirling through her head, and the feelings ( _feelings?_ ) those thoughts were generating.

She was aware of the burning feeling that had crept up her neck and flowed over her ears. She shook her head, trying to clear both it and the vision that had blurred slightly as Morgan spoke, opening her up and flinging her back in time to the night in Kansas City and the one in Barcelona.

Zoe noticed her hesitation, and her distress. She was smart enough to not call attention to it, but instead attacked the issue from an angle.

“Why don’t you just sit down with her and talk… you don’t even have to broach the subject that the two of you have been hiding from the last few months. Hell, Shaw, it may turn out that the two of you decide, now that some time has past that the two of you don’t have what you both obviously thought was a possibility. Then- no harm, no foul.

“Or, there’s a possibility that the two of you are like those fireworks, I think they call them stars, that explode into trails of colors that disappear after that one brief flaming moment. You’ll generate some serious heat, then flame out either because it’s too intense to last or you’re both incapable of keeping the flame burning.

“It’s also possible you two could have something, something pretty amazing, maybe even permanent. But if you don’t explore the possibility- what are the possible outcomes?

“There’s only one- the two of you continue on like this and years from now wonder if this was it- the one chance each of you had until you decided to back off and let it die.”

At this point, Zoe leaned over and grabbed Shaw’s hand, firmly but gently. She squeezed until the former doctor raised her eyes to stare back at the woman she’d patched up only hours ago.

“You say you’re not afraid of anything, Doctor. Yet both of you must know, deep down inside that if you take that path, and stay away without ever admitting and discussing what’s going on, then you’ll be taking the coward’s way out. Because one definition of cowardice is never taking a risk. Or in this case, _the_ risk.”

Shaw looked balefully at Morgan. She felt like her teammate had managed to crawl inside her head and expose the thing she’d kept from surfacing in her conscious mind for the months since she’d first met the hacker. Her face reddened as she struggled with the realization that Zoe had put into words part of what had been eating at her ever since the pair had split up at the airport in Barcelona.

_Are you afraid? Maybe you should stop trying to convince yourself you don’t do feelings and examine what has been going on inside of you since that night she walked away from you and you felt that sinking feeling that you tried to pass off as being hungry._

_You’ve never been afraid of anything… but because of that maybe you don’t recognize fear. And if it is fear… then what? Would you be afraid to admit it? The first step in overcoming fear is admitting it’s there. Then you can face it and deal with it._

_Shit._

“OK Morgan, you’re injured so I’m not going to smack you around for that.”

Her faint smile gave lie to her words. She squeezed Zoe’s hand gently, then stood and looked around.

“I’m headed to the office. I’ll check in on you later today, see if you need anything.”

….

Root had stopped at the warehouse for a brief meeting with Frankie, Reese and Weston, who gave her an update on the operation with Shaw and Zoe the night before. Root listened to his briefing then sent a message to Dr. Tillman requesting a brief video conference before she boarded her plane.

“This trip will hopefully give us some insight as to what happened when the North Koreans sold that dirty bomb to ISIS and give us some insight on any future similar activity. I can’t shake the feeling that the Machine is looking into the possibility there’s more planned and that that dirty bomb was just a prelude.”

Frankie looked up from her laptop, a question in her eyes.

“Root, why are you going to Israel? I thought you got all the intelligence from them last month when you were there for four days.”

The temporary CEO looked down and both Reese and Wells noticed the slight redness that tinged her ears, but decided to ignore it. After taking a breath, her head came back up.

“The Prime Minister requested another meeting- I’m not sure if she’s fishing for intelligence or going to share something she thinks we need to know about. Either way, it would be impolite and impolitic to brush her off. It’s only two days, then on to Pretoria to meet with TICA where we may be able to begin to put all this stuff together.”

TICA was TME Intelligence and Communication Assets, an unofficial combination of assets from intelligence communities around the world. The assets had been recruited by Root for the expressed purpose of two way communications: a way to get classified intelligence out but also a way to get information to the agencies that needed it to deal with relevant threats around the world.

The dirty bomb fiasco in Israel had reinforced the need for a free flow of intelligence in both directions, and it exposed a weakness that TICA attempted to address. Intelligence agencies world-wide were extremely protective of the information they managed to acquire and with good reason. In many cases, the information tipped hostile governments to the source of the information simply by its nature.

If info leaked out about guidance systems in missile technology in North Korea, their government would look at the designers, testers and assemblers for the initial leak. By having a team of assets, the information could be gleaned, filtered and dispensed with a layer of protection for the informants.

The governments didn’t like it, but capitulated because they realized it was to everyone’s individual benefit to have this information out there without risking the security of the sources of the information. After Root demonstrated the ability of the Machine to compile accurate threat assessments without compromising assets, the governments agreed to an unprecedented level of cooperation under certain restrictions.

The meeting in South Africa would discuss the threat assessments from all of the agencies currently active inside the borders of North Korea. The threat assessments would be presented by Root, with no credit to the agency which uncovered any data leading to the threat.

Each asset at the meeting would recognize the information its own particular sources developed, however they would not know where any other information originated. After each threat was presented, brainstorming sessions would determine what the next step would be in dealing with each individual threat.

TME, and Root by extension, reserved the right to act independently of TICA’s decisions as a result of any intelligence arising after each session. The committee would of course be apprised of any such action- however until the next official meeting, details surrounding any threat would not be forthcoming- only that TME determined a threat was credible, immediate and at a high enough level of danger to require immediate action.

Both Reese and Frankie wondered if the PM’s request for a meeting had less to do with the PICA meetings and more to do with the redness that spread slowly across the neck and shoulders of the temporary CEO. Both kept quiet about it, remembering the explosion triggered a few weeks ago when one of the assets on the irrelevant side mentioned to Root in passing that she’d seen footage of Root emerging from a hotel in Tel Aviv only minutes after the PM’s motorcade had left the same building.

What the temporary CEO did in her free time was none of their business, they had decided after the asset was offered early retirement, a decent pension and a confidentiality agreement that left no doubt about what would happen if she violated it.

Discretion being the better part of valor.

….

The meeting broke up around 10:00AM. Root packed up her few remaining necessities, threw them in her bag with her laptop and headed toward the front door where her ride was waiting. She was passing the reception desk and stopped to greet the asset manning the desk when the doors opened and Shaw came striding in.

The pair froze, staring at each other for a brief moment. Root recovered first, turned back to Maggie at the desk and finished their brief conversation.

“So I hope when I get back, we can get together and discuss some of your thoughts further. I like the way you contribute and would like to see if there’s more we can do to utilize your talents to their fullest.”

Maggie visibly preened at the praise, and it drove home two things to the former doctor who was still staring at the hacker. First it reminded her of Barcelona and the way she made Gabriella glow with her memory and assessment of the assets skillset. That triggered more memories of Barcelona, her night with Root and the following night with Tomas.

And another thought immediately followed.

_Would things have been different between us had I left Tomas alone and not been in such a hurry to prove to myself that I didn’t feel anything for her?_

The second point followed right along with the first.

_Root has never offered to meet with me- she hardly acknowledges my existence at TME except for polite greetings in passing. How do I deal with that as well?_

As Root turned to walk away from the reception desk, Shaw decided to act. She walked right up to the hacker and stood in her way. Root hesitated, confusion spreading across her face. It was obvious she had expected the two of them to continue to avoid each other. She couldn’t just walk around and ignore the new asset, so she stopped and smiled.

“Shaw, how have you been? The last time I saw you, you were taking out your frustrations on some paper targets. I’ve got a plane to catch, but I’ve got a couple of minutes if you need to talk.”

Shaw smiled, deflecting Root’s attempt at dismissal and deciding to go all in.

“It might take more than a couple minutes, but I could ride to the airport with you and catch my own way back- I really think we need to talk.”

The last was delivered quietly so only the two of them could hear. Root gaped at the former doctor, surprised at her forward approach. Off balance, the hacker found herself agreeing without knowing why.

“Of course, let’s go. And you can ride back with Simon- he was coming back here after dropping me off. Ready Simon?”

As the driver nodded and took Root’s baggage, Shaw walked out with the temporary CEO taken aback at the turn of events. She’d decided to confront Root spur of the moment, without considering she might have to have an actual conversation with the woman who’d wormed her way into Shaw’s subconscious and wouldn’t leave.

_What do I say? I guess the truth, but it might sound so lame. Am I afraid of sounding lame or am I really afraid of baring my soul… but do I even know what that would mean? Should I have waited and planned this, or would I have chickened out if I put too much thought in it?_

_Shit._

Shaw decided she would go for partial exposure, wanting to see what Root’s reaction would be if she asked why the hacker was avoiding her, but making it seem like she was simply wondering why CEO Root didn’t interact with asset Shaw like she seemed to interact with all the other assets on the irrelevant side.

Shaw settled in the back seat, passenger side and glanced over at the temporary CEO. Root was gazing at the former doctor, her face giving away nothing. Shaw, racked with indecision, knew she had to drive the conversation and took a deep breath.

“So, Madam CEO, I was wondering if my performance since coming on board has been satisfactory or if I needed to update my resume?”

Root’s eyes widened at the question. She was thrown completely off balance and looked away and out the window, mind racing. Wondering if Shaw was playing a game, she decided to play it straight, and take Shaw’s question at face value.

“Dr. Shaw, your performance has been exemplary, going back to our recruiting trip to Spain, where you proved yourself to everyone on the irrelevant side. You never had to prove yourself to me- I told you when we were recruiting you that I was a big fan.

“Nothing since we parted ways at the Barcelona airport has happened to make me question my impression… or Her’s.”

Root sat rigidly in her seat as she delivered the words, that seemed both forced _and_ rehearsed. Shaw noticed and decided to press her advantage.

“Then why have you never stopped and talked? You engage with every asset I see you encounter on the irrelevant side, yet you haven’t said more than a couple of sentences to me except for that night we ran into each other at the shooting range.

“I’ve watched and wondered if what happened in Spain affected your impression of me and if anything I did over there was out of bounds, I want to know if it can be discussed and the air can be cleared.”

Shaw refused to offer any apologies, at least until she knew if one might be needed. However, she was trying to feel Root out and see if the hacker would give her any clues as to where she stood. She was about to find out.

Root turned her gaze full on the former doctor and her expression wasn’t inviting. Her cheeks were tinged with red and her eyes flashed anger briefly, before abruptly, the wall came down and the hacker’s expression faded to impassive.

“Well, doctor, I do remember a conversation we had where you told me you didn’t _do_ relationships… and I also believe you went out of your way to prove the point within 24 hours. So if my encounters with you were kept to civil exchanges with little enthusiasm, and my behavior bothered you, I apologize.

“I just thought someone who professed to not do relationships, _and_ to not do feelings, wouldn’t object to being treated the same way she treated others. You’ve never gone out of your way to be social to anyone you worked with, I didn’t see you being the type to be bothered with a lack of small talk or interaction of any kind not related to the mission.

“If I was wrong in that impression, I apologize, but in fact I thought I was simply following your lead.”

Shaw was silent, unable to come up with an appropriate response to Root’s statement. They rode in uncomfortable silence for about ten minutes when, to the relief of both, they arrived at the airport.

Root opened the door without a word, then as she exited the back seat she leaned back in for a parting shot.

“If I thought we had any hope of something developing after the first night in Barcelona, the second night dispelled that thought. I think it’s a good thing you have rules, Shaw, and the three night rule may very well be a good one for you- as well as your rule that you don’t do relationships.

“But you see I have a rule as well.”

Just before closing her door, the hacker looked once more into Shaw’s eyes, a sadness clouding her face.

“I don’t like playing second fiddle to anyone…. of either gender.”

The door closed and Root took her bags from Simon and turned and walked into the airport without a backward glance.

Shaw sat there stunned.

_Shit!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Please let me know, your comments fuel my creativity.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaw has a conversation with herself. Root conflicted by thoughts of two people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning- Root has encounter(s), Rated PG.

Shaw sat frozen in her seat as Simon drove them back to headquarters. Her mind raced as she processed the last twenty minutes. Root had felt something, she was sure of that, yet it appeared that the former doctor had thrown any chance of anything further away with her dalliance with the former jewel thief and darkly handsome operative.

_Fucking Tomas, if he hadn’t been so hot, so available and coming on to me like there was no tomorrow, this would have never happened._

Then, fast as the thought entered her mind, she overrode it with logic.

_Stop it Shaw, this isn’t Tomas’ fault any more than it’s Root’s fault. The blame lies with you and your fear of feelings and relationships. Shit, shit… Shit! You did this… you’re to blame for her anger and anything else you try to deflect with is just that- deflection._

The former doctor rode the rest of the way back to the warehouse in a state of complete confusion- wondering on one hand how she could have hurt Root so much that she had completely shut down and on the other, desperately trying to come up with a plan, any plan to “fix” the situation.

Sameen Shaw always had a plan, always knew what she was going to do next. The problem was she had no idea how to fix this because she had no idea what to fix. Would an apology work? Would asking Root to start over work? Was this discomfort that had seized her initially ever going away?

And the biggest, most nagging question that stayed just on the edges of her subconscious until in desperation, she brought it forward and faced it.

_Do I have to fix myself before I can fix things with Root and is that even possible?_

How had she fucked this up so totally that she was left with a sinking sensation and no way to alleviate it?

….

The hacker and now temporary CEO spent the next six hours alternating between brooding over the brief conversation with Shaw and anticipating the upcoming encounter with Adina Paler. The PM and Root had only had two encounters “off the books” but they had been exciting and memorable. The first more than the second.

Despite the physical activity being somewhat vanilla, the fact that the girl from the other side of the tracks, white trash from a backwater burg like Bishop, Texas, could be actually having an affair with one of the most powerful people in the world was heady stuff, even for someone like her, who had thought she’d seen and done it all.

The pure, raw excitement of the first time, when the two of them met in the Knesset, left together in the PM’s official vehicle, a reinforced Humvee with a Lieutenant Colonel driving and headed out toward the Negev Desert, stopping in the parking lot of an amusement park on the southwest edge of Be’er Sheva.

Paler then leaned forward and addressed her driver.

“Colonel the two of us are going on alone. You will stay here with the vehicle until such time as we return for the trip back to the Knesset. You will turn off your cell phone, and you will not use it until such time as we return and I authorize it.

“Do you understand?”

The driver, caught in a situation he was neither in control of nor experienced in, stuttered an objection that the PM quickly deflected.

“If you can’t follow my orders, we will return immediately to the Knesset where I will not only replace you as today’s driver but reassign you to guard duty in the most isolated section there is near Gaza.

“And it will be a permanent reassignment for the duration of my Prime Ministership. On the other hand, you can simply follow orders and wait for us to return, I can assure you that the office of the Prime Minister will remember your obedience and loyalty and both will be rewarded.”

As the colonel nodded, defeated, the Prime Minister opened the door herself, indicating she wished the colonel to stay in the driver’s seat. As Root turned to open her door, the PM stayed her movement with a hand on her forearm.

“Before we get out, please put this on.”

She handed the hacker a hijab with a heavy veil covering the opening for the face. As Root looked over at the PM with a question in her eyes, she saw Paler putting an identical one over her own head. Root followed suit. The pair then exited the vehicle, but not before the Prime Minister had one last order.

“Remember, phone off. It’s 1315, don’t expect us back here before 1930.”

The two women walked across the crowded parking lot unnoticed until arriving at a nondescript Hyundai Santa Fe. Adina opened the door, looked back at Root and tilted her head toward the passenger’s side.

“Get in.”

Root walked over and opened the door. The vehicle was fairly common except for the windows, which were tinted dark enough to obscure the interior. After climbing in, both ladies removed the veils, leaving the hijabs on per the PM’s instructions. Adina started the Hyundai and directed it out of the parking lot.

The pair drove in silence for almost thirty minutes headed south into the Negev. They passed a small village and about two miles on, Paler took a right onto a path that was too rough to be called a road. They rode up a brief hill, about 300 yards, rounded a large outcropping of rocks and, as they crested the hill, encountered a small building, approximately thirty feet square.

Adina drove around the building. At the rear was what appeared to be a small outcropping, the roof the only part visible. The entire wall appeared to be shrouded, obscuring any view of what lay behind the canvas wall. Paler stopped and pressed the button on what looked like a remote attached to the driver’s sun visor.

The shroud opened from the middle, the fabric attached to a framework that bowed out, revealing a small area just spacious enough for the Hyundai. Adina pulled the vehicle into the area and killed the engine. She looked over at her passenger and removed the hijab. Root followed suit, and looked over at the PM who was smiling.

“It may seem like a lot of cloak and dagger, but for my security it’s necessary. If we were meeting anywhere else, Israel’s enemies could discover it and use it against me, and the nation. Here we have complete privacy, this building is swept weekly for devices, and before we go in, we are going to turn off our phones and leave everything in the car.”

Root nodded, and pulled out her phone and laptop, and powered both down. She didn’t want to stress Adina so she kept the implant to herself. The two exited the vehicle and entered the building through a door hidden in an alcove at the back of the covered area.

The door had an electronic keypad. Adina inserted a card in the pad’s slot and keyed in several numbers, which the Machine repeated back to Root causing her to smile faintly.

_She doesn’t have any idea of Her abilities, and how much She already knows. This will be useful in the future._

Adina led the pair into the building, which appeared to be set up like a normal Israeli home, the first floor was mostly storage. The one difference was there was a staircase leading to the upper floors inside the building.

Most homes in the country were built with separate entrances for each floor. As Adina led the hacker to the staircase without comment, the Machine provided this information to Root. As they ascended the staircase without comment, Root took note of the layout.

As they reached the second level, Adina walked across a hardwood floor into a small kitchen. She turned, smiled and reached for the cupboard.

“I have wine, whiskey and a couple brands of beer- Bud and Heineken. Can I get you something?”

“Heineken is fine, thanks.”

Adina grabbed two glasses and slid one across the counter toward the hacker. The PM then went to the refrigerator, grabbed a green bottle and handed it to Root. She turned back, filled her glass half full of ice and reached for a bottle of Scotch sitting next to the fridge.

Pouring her glass almost to the top, Paler glided over to the temporary CEO and raised her glass.

“To new friendships.”

Root lightly tapped her bottle against Adina’s glass and stared unflinching into the PM’s eyes. Her smile as she stared caused Paler to blush slightly. Noting her hostess’ slight discomfort, the hacker decided to take control. Leaning in, she slid her tongue slowly across her upper lip and let her smile gradually fade.

“So Adina, is the playroom upstairs?”

As the PM’s blush deepened, Root set her bottle on the counter, took Adina’s glass and set it down as well, then slipped her arm lightly around Paler’s neck and drew her in. Barely brushing their lips together, the hacker then leaned back.

“Maybe you should show it to me.”

....

Several enjoyable hours later, as the two dressed, Paler seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Root watched her out of the corner of her eye while the Machine whispered in her ear.

_Her blood pressure is rising again and her pulse is accelerated. Palms perspiring indicate nervousness._

The hacker once again took the lead.

“Adina, I hope we can do this again sometime. As you know I’m really not much for relationships but I don’t mind having a little fun when the opportunity presents itself. I don’t expect any commitment but if we cross paths again I wouldn’t turn down a second shot.”

The PM’s relief was palpable.

“Root, I should have realized you and I were enough alike that I didn’t have to worry about you getting clingy but I have to confess that I’ve misread others in the past. I’m completely committed to my nation and don’t have the time or energy for relationships.

“I’m with you- I hope we _can_ do this again sometime.”

....

Several weeks later they ran into each other at an international economic conference where TME was consulting on security. At the session with the participants’ security details a note was delivered to the hacker just as they were wrapping up.

_Drink? My suite? AP_

Root sent back- _In an hour or so R_ then as soon as the briefing ended, she raced back and took a quick shower then headed up to the 28th floor. Security was tight but other than a couple of eyebrows raised in surprise, no one approached her. The entrance to the Presidential Suite was flanked by two guards, a man and a woman.

As Root approached the woman turned and rapped twice, paused then rapped three times. The door opened immediately and another woman who had just met Root at the briefing stepped out. As the hacker entered the suite, the door closed behind her.

Root looked around the suite. Locating the bar, she headed over and found the refrigerator. Pulling ice out of the freezer she filled two crystal goblets then searched the liquor cabinet for some Scotch. What she found put a damper on the entire evening.

_Macallan._

The evening she met Shaw came back to her unbidden and unwanted. The image of the petite former doctor burned bright in Root’s memory. The hacker poured a full glass and tossed it back hoping the burn would ignite the memory, consume it and reduce it to ashes.

It didn’t work.

Root had poured a second glass and filled the other when she heard the sound of a door opening. A familiar voice, heavy with promise came from the entrance.

“Is this a _second shot_?”

Root smiled at that memory, and felt relief that the unwanted intrusion of the memory of the Persian asset was fading. The relief didn’t last. Adina walked up to the hacker, kissed her hard and broke away, reaching for her glass. She took a sip and smiled.

“I’m glad they listened. I find this stuff to be the best Scotch in the world- and this stuff doesn’t force you to buy an expensive bottle and look like a pretentious, self-aggrandizing asshole.”

Root’s words that night came back to her like a slap in the face. The PM noticed and frowned.

“You OK? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m just tired- long day getting ready for your conference. Maybe we can help each other forget tomorrow and relax for a bit.”

Adina finished her drink in one long pull, see her glass down and reached for the hacker.

“I like the way you’re thinking,”

...

An hour-and-a-half later, the hacker stepped out of the suite, took the elevator to the lobby and headed back to her hotel. The ride gave her the opportunity to reflect on Adina and the encounters. She felt a growing sense of disappointment the more she considered them.

_She’s pretty vanilla- the first time you were giddy because of what she was not who she is. Once it was just the two of you as people- not you and the Prime Ministers of Israel it became obvious that she isn’t... she’s not.. well, she’s not her._

_If there’s a next time it probably should be the last time, although I wouldn’t tell her in any way that might hurt her feelings. Maybe I’ll tell her I have a rule.... oh shit!_

Realizing whom she was emulating, Root sank back into the funk brought on by the Scotch. She brooded the rest of the ride, in the elevator going up to her suite and until she finally fell into a fitful sleep almost two hours later. It wasn’t a restful slumber.

_Root stood on a beach staring out at the sun as the fiery red ball was swallowed by the sea._

_“Beautiful isn’t it?”_

_Root turned and there she was, standing next to the hacker as they loosely held hands. The tiny firecracker turned toward the hacker, reached up and pulled the taller woman down by her hair. As their lips met Shaw bit down hard, then ran her tongue over the area easing the pain and sending a shiver through her entire body._

_Suddenly she felt herself released and as her eyes opened she watched as the former doctor walked away... and she wasn’t alone. As the man began to turn back toward Root she knew before his face came into view who it was.. Tomas of course._

_The hacker felt a cold empty feeling replace the sizzling heat that had began to engulf her only seconds before. She reached out, eyes stinging and tried to call her back._

_“Sameen... no, don’t... please.”_

_The pair disappeared down the sandy beach now shadowy as dusk gave way to night. Root tried to turn and walk away only to find her feet buried in the muck as the tide crept in. Her despair gave way to panic as the water rose cover her inch by inch. Unable to free her feet she opened her mouth to scream..._

And sat straight up in her bed, tears streaking her cheeks.

_Shit! Shaw what the hell? Stay out of my head, damn you._

....

The dream bothered the hacker for days. Her dalliance with the Prime Minister had, instead of clearing her mind, resulted in making things more confusing. After the “second shot” and the dream that followed, the hacker was determined to deal with whatever the issues were that caused thoughts of the former doctor to send her reeling into physical and emotional short-circuit.

First on her list was dealing with Adina in a way that didn’t cause the PM to react like she was being tossed aside without a second thought. While she hadn’t been deceptive in their brief affair, she also hadn’t been entirely forthcoming. Root’s initial giddiness at messing around with one of the most powerful women on the planet only lasted until the two met up for the second time.

The fact that a certain former doctor kept getting between them was Root’s fault not that of the Israeli leader. Realistically, the problem went back to the hacker’s unique tastes coupled with how perfectly they had seemed to align with those of the tiny Persian asset. Acknowledging that was something the hacker had tried to bury, but it kept surfacing with regularity every time Shaw’s name was mentioned.

Now, as she headed to Israel and another encounter with the PM, Root’s thoughts were a swirling maelstrom of conflict. She knew her affair with Adina would be short-lived, she knew she was assaulted with thoughts of the former doctor no matter her efforts to put the firecracker out of her mind and she knew that, in spite of her deflections and denials, Shaw’s fling with Tomas had hurt her deeply.

What she didn’t know, and didn’t think possible until the ride to the airport, was that her trying to put Shaw out of her mind by avoiding any contact with her had affected said doctor so deeply that she was willing to confront the CEO about it. The former doctor’s body language told a different story than her innocuous words.

Shaw was upset and possibly hurt by Root’s avoiding her- a turn of events that positively shocked the hacker. The CEO had operated under the assumption that Shaw’s fling with Tomas was as much a message to Root as it was scratching an itch the recruit had developed during the trip to Spain and Israel. Shaw’s confronting Root, and her body language during the ride to the airport gave the hacker a different take on the entire episode.

Was it even possible that Shaw realized her actions regarding the former jewel thief were problematic and that she regretted them? Was she trying to repair the damage she realized she had caused? Were Root’s words to the former doctor so harsh and unthinking that she had blown an opportunity she didn’t realize she had? Or one she wanted?

_Shit!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, thoughts? Your feedback fuels the author's engine.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaw discovers something that shakes her confidence, Root deals with an issue and a threat changes things.

Root’s flight landed in Jerusalem at 1415 Israeli time. Root went to the hotel where a reservation had been made for Kelly Dyson, Executive VP of IT for AI International. The hacker checked in, unpacked then showered off the ten hour flight. She changed into her skinny jeans with a white button down shirt and black vest, pulled on her leather knee-high boots and texted Adina’s private number.

_I’m in my room._

Within minutes she received an answer.

_There’s a car waiting for you downstairs._

Five minutes later the hacker was headed away from the hotel in the back of a black Cadillac CTS. Ten minutes later the Caddy pulled into an underground parking structure where Root climbed out of the car and was directed to a yellow Mustang with tinted windows. She climbed into the driver’s seat and exited the structure.

As she exited the concrete underground parking garage, the GPS in the Mustang lit up with driving directions. Root followed the instructions and headed out of the city in a northeasterly direction. Twenty minutes later she was directed onto an access road that ended at a driveway blocked by an iron gate.

As she slowed the gate opened and the GPS instructed in a voice that reminded Root of Hers.

“Drive around building and park in garage.”

The hacker complied and as she came around the building the garage door was going up. Root pulled in and killed the engine. As she sat waiting, the door closed and a door opened into the house. Root recognized the PM standing silhouetted in the light of the hallway and climbed out of her car.

As she walked toward the front of the Mustang, her mind was racing.

_How do I handle this? I can’t in good conscience let this continue while I’m sorting out my feelings about Shaw. I really like her though, we have so much in common. I’ve got to be careful because while the physical stuff needs to end, I really would like to keep her as a friend and confidant._

Adina’s smile as she greeted the hacker was warm and inviting. Root’s thoughts shifted to anticipation of the physical activity that was certain to commence within a few minutes and a random thought proved inspirational.

_I wish it was Shaw in there, then we’d really have some..... oh._

Root smiled up at the PM and followed her down the hall and into a small kitchen. She waited until Adina turned and wrapped her hand around the PM’s neck. Pulling her in tight she nipped lightly at Paler’s lower lip then eased the sting with her tongue. With practiced skill she nipped a second time just hard enough to bring tears to the PM’s eyes without leaving a mark.

The PM looked at Root with confusion in her eyes.

“What was that?”

Root smiled predatorily. She arched her eyebrows and said with a smirk.

“Thought you might like to spice it up a little. I really like a little pain... it makes the pleasure that much more intense don’t you think?

“I figure our encounters have progressed to the point where I can be open and honest about what _really_ does it for me. And quite frankly Adina, the thought of _topping_ you sets me on fire.

“I promise not to leave any marks where they’ll be visible to anyone except us.”

The PM blinked again, unsure where the sudden aggression came from. She held the hacker at arms length and slowly shook her head. Then the PM released her grip, turned and walked away. She walked over to a small wet bar and stood for almost a minute, back turned to Root.

Then, turning back, she looked up into the hacker’s eyes, determined.

“I’m sorry Root but I’m really not into that. I don’t mean to hurt you but if that’s what it takes for you to get off, well maybe this isn’t going to work. I thought you and I were on the same page but if that’s what you’re into, I completely misread this.

“I’m sorry.”

Root blinked, then looked down at the floor for a long moment before looking back at the PM with embarrassment in her eyes. The hacker allowed her face to reflect confusion and just a hint of discomfort.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry, maybe I’m the one who misread the situation. Adina, I’m so embarrassed.... I don’t know what to say.... I’ll just leave.”

Root kept shifting her eyes from the PM’s face to a spot over her shoulder, then dropped her gaze to the floor. And she turned toward the doorway she’d entered only moments before. Before she could take a step, Adina reached for the hacker’s arm, stopping her.

“Don’t go- please stay and at least have a drink with me, I’d hate to lose a friendship I’ve come to value over this.

“Can we get past this and remain friends?”

Root kept the smile inside. She kept her eyes lowered where they’d stayed since she’d admitted her embarrassment. Finally after ten seconds that probably felt longer, she raised her eyes to the PM’s and gazed into them with a look that seemed vulnerable yet hopeful.

“Do you mean that? I can’t tell you how bad I feel Madam Prime Minister. I totally screwed this up and the worst part is that I really value your friendship as well and feel like I just blew it. I would really like to continue to be friends if you’d have me.”

The PM leaned back and laughed.

“Listen Root, I like sex but it doesn’t drive me. I told you when we first got together that I didn’t do relationships. My love, my mistress, my everything is my country. I’m not _that_ devastated by the two of us having a strictly business relationship and maintaining a platonic friendship. I still think we’re a lot alike even if your tastes in bed run a little far afield from mine.

“So have a drink, we can talk about what you’re going to discuss in South Africa and then you can head back to your hotel and I’ll head back to my home.

“And maybe we’ll both need a cold shower.”

They both laughed and the PM never noticed Root’s laugh seemed a little more than relieved, almost self-satisfied.

....

Shaw was still reeling from her conversation with Root on the way to the airport. She now realized the mistake she made when she blew off some steam with Tomas. The thing that stung the most was that the main reason she allowed herself the diversion was to prove to herself she didn’t care about the hacker and wasn’t affected by the night they spent together.

The truth was she was so affected by both Root and their night in Barcelona that she had panicked and ran to Tomas as a way of dealing with the aftermath. Her reaction was instinctive, born of a lifetime of believing she didn’t do feelings. The reality was she had never encountered a person or situation that brought her feelings to life.

Until now.

The question then became what to do with the situation, meaning what to do with the fact that she’d driven Root away. She was the one responsible, she chased the darkly handsome ex-jewel thief or, at the very least, allowed herself to be chased and caught by him. The repercussions were just now apparent and the hollow, empty feeling she had was no one’s fault but hers.

She was to blame for Root’s current behavior and attitude toward the former doctor. If there was a way to repair the damage, it was up to her to do it. Could she just go to the hacker, admit her mistake, beg her forgiveness and deal with the consequences, or was she going to do what Zoe accused her of and let cowardice send her back into her shell?

As she entered the TME Headquarters the next morning, she was determined to discover a way to confront Root again, this time with an attitude that would show the hacker she wanted, she needed an opportunity to make things right between them. She realized she had only a few days to plan before TME’s temporary CEO returned.

And she realized the longer she waited, the larger the wall she was going to have to break down would become. She needed an opportunity to speak to her again and she needed to think about what she would say, not in an attempt to manipulate, but an honest expression of her regret and her desire for a second chance.

She headed for the range, an hour or so of shooting followed by breaking down and cleaning a few of her weapons would help to settle her mind, allowing her to process and plan the best way to proceed. As she passed the large conference room assets used as an armory, she heard voices.

The door was partially opened and she observed Reese and Blake Weston working on several handguns. Their backs were to the door and they were engrossed in their work, but were talking in somewhat low tones. When Shaw passed, she heard the word ‘Root’ and, with a tinge of guilt, stopped to listen in.

Reese was talking as he worked on his 1911.

“Blake, any talk about the CEO and her personal life is one thing you want to avoid at all costs. I know she’s got a soft spot for you, hell you took three bullets for her protégé and she credits you with Gen surviving, but talk about her and anyone, especially the PM, will get you cashiered if it gets out.

“Keep it under your hat. It’s speculation anyway, you know. No one had ever seen them together.”

“Come on Reese, you saw the look on her face when Frankie asked her why she was stopping in Jerusalem on her way to the TICA conference. If she’d gotten any redder she’d have glowed.

“The Prime Minister of Israel has been the subject of tons of speculation over the years- never married, no male relationships that anyone ever knew of and, kept under the radar for most of her political life, rumors of her and several female ‘companions’.

“There’s no doubt something’s going on, the question is will it compromise TME’s mission?”

“Listen, that kind of talk will get you in more trouble than you can ever imagine. Our CEO’s focus is, and probably always will be, the Machine, first and foremost. I actually worry about her at times- I think she needs someone in her life to keep her anchored to her humanity.

“She has a colorful, to put it mildly, history. The Machine, and to a lesser extent her original teammates before the war with Samaritan, changed her from an amoral hacker and killer to a caring, feeling member of a team that took down the single most dangerous threat to human liberty since… well maybe since forever.

“Her allegiance to the Machine approaches worship at times, but she also forgets her own welfare for the sake of the mission as a result. She’s the one holding this whole thing together since Harold left, and I worry that someday she’ll do something like when she took a bullet for Finch and there won’t be any miracle of survival.

“I wish she’d meet someone who meant as much to her as her AI goddess, if only so she’d consider her own welfare for once. Her recklessness worries me way more than her trysts with the Prime Minister, who is probably only a diversion for her right now.

“I certainly don’t begrudge her her little indulgences and hope you will keep your mouth shut in the future. Your a valuable teammate, Weston, I really don’t want to break in a new one.”

Shaw turned and headed back toward the cafeteria, wanting to absorb what she’d just overheard before going back to shoot. For the second time in twenty-four hours, she felt like she’d absorbed a body blow, first by the realization of what she’d done to Root and now by the knowledge that Root had been having an affair.

_The Prime Minister of Israel._

The former doctor had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

_The Prime Minister of Israel._

Shaw entered the cafeteria, went through the line and realized when she sat down that she had only got coffee. Her lack of interest in the menu drove home the point like nothing else could have.

_The Prime Minister of Israel. How do I compete with that?_

The former doctor headed back down to the range, determined to lose herself in the familiar pleasure of the flash of the muzzle, the feel of the kick and the smell of gunpowder while she allowed this new information time to settle. She spent almost two hours with four different handguns and still felt unsettled when she walked to the armory to break her weapons down and give them a thorough cleaning.

By the time she was done with her last weapon, it was almost 1:30 in the afternoon. Shaw realized she had spent more time cleaning her guns than she’d spent shooting them since the act of cleaning allowed her to reflect on her current problem.

She stopped again at the cafeteria, this time with a little more appetite, then headed to the irrelevant side’s Command Center to see if any action was imminent. Finding nothing, she headed to the gym, did a half hour of weights, fifteen minutes loosening up and went for a five mile run.

She arrived home around 5:30 and spent the rest of the night brooding.

….

Root arrived in South Africa at 1500. The flight from Jerusalem was uneventful. After checking into her hotel, the hacker wandered through downtown Pretoria aimlessly, trying to clear her head for the meeting the next morning. Thoughts of a certain Persian former physician kept interfering with her focus on the threats that seemed to be swirling around something big tied to the North Korean nuclear threat.

_When you return to New York, you are going to have to sit down with her and straighten out this situation. You can’t be pining away for someone who isn’t willing to meet you, if not halfway, at least from somewhere other than her phony Axis II personality disorder bullshit._

_And you have to determine if what you think is possible is real, or simply an outgrowth of gratitude for her saving your life. That’s a possibility… you’ve been under so much stress, maybe this is all just fantasy, your reaction to the war with Samaritan, almost dying and the responsibilities you’ve taken on._

The Machine interrupted her reverie. The message in Root’s ear changed the entire focus of the next day.. and drove all thoughts of her personal life away. The information, paired with what some of tomorrow’s attendees had gathered pushed everything, including the scheduled TICA conference to the back burner.

_Could terrorists be about to set off a nuclear device within the borders of the United States?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, comments feed me. ;)


	17. Chapter 17

At 9:00AM Pretoria time, Root called the TICA meeting to order. By 9:15, the entire room was sitting in stunned silence as they considered the implications of the intelligence the hacker had shared as an introduction.

“Eshan Qalat was one of the developers of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program. Retired for several years, he recently went completely off the grid. He disappeared on vacation in western New Mexico six weeks ago. His return flight was three weeks ago and he never showed nor checked in.

“Dimitri Popov worked 27 years on the Soviet, then Russian nuclear weapons programs. Five years ago he was fired- rumored to have cooperated with the Russian mob in a failed attempt at getting their hands on a nuke. He managed to escape Russia before he could be arrested, disappeared for eighteen months until surfacing in Venezuela just after Chavez died.

“Three years ago he ‘defected’ to Cuba, then came to the States on a visa that managed to slip by ICE. He was on a bus tour of the Grand Canyon and also disappeared the same week Qalat went missing. Last time he was seen his tour bus was about to enter Apache County, one of the poorest counties in the US and part of the Navajo Native American Reservation.

“Both scientists went missing the same week in the same location. Just months before, TME’s relevant section ID’d and intercepted a dirty bomb intended for the Knesset. There’s credible intel indicating that bomb was a diversion, intended to distract the world’s intelligence communities so a shipment of enough weapons grade nuclear material could be smuggled out of North Korea to assemble a tactical nuke.

“Theoretically, a well designed tactical nuclear weapon could have a blast radius over a half mile, killing virtually everyone inside. We have two scientists with the ability to design and build a small nuclear weapon, we have credible intelligence indicating weapons grade nuclear material was shipped covertly from DPRK back around Christmas.

“Finally we have sources indicating a potential target within the US- I won’t tell you the source however it correctly identified the bomb intended for the Knesset. Memorial Day weekend there will be 160,000 people at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca Cola 600 stock car race. Our source indicates with almost certain probability that unless we intervene, the device will be detonated and the casualty rate will approach 100%.”

The information, gleaned from several sources, left the room speechless. If successful it would be the worst terrorist attack in world history _by a factor of 50_.

Root looked over the conference table and addressed the intelligence specialists assembled.

“We are about to divert all TME assets to stopping the attack. The clock is running people, we have less than four days to locate the weapon. Several of your agencies have already been asked for assets to assist the US Government in stopping this threat.

“I am leaving on a military transport as soon as this meeting concludes. Please advise your respective agencies what is expected of them based on the email you just received. I’m under a time constraint so we will cut this short. Once we’ve dealt with this threat, we’ll resume normal TICA conferences.

“We are going to need all hands on deck to deal with this. I don’t have to tell you the repercussions if we fail to stop this. TME and the US Government expects your complete cooperation dealing with this issue. Good day.”

And the “Interim” CEO closed her laptop, nodded and swept out of the room. The assembled intelligence assets sat frozen for a long moment before closing up and getting on with the task of advising their respective governments of the situation.

….

Root headed for Pretoria’s International Airport where an F-15 Strike Eagle was waiting for her. She was given a quick course in use of the seat (ejection protocols, etc.), a flight suit and a “barf bag”- ( _just a precaution she was told by the pilot, who looked like a teenager to the hacker_ ) and the jet was airborne less than ninety minutes after she concluded the meeting.

Sensations pummeled the CEO as the plane his it’s cruising speed of 1500 MPH for the six-and-a-half hour flight to DC. They would slow to under 300 three times as refueling aircraft topped their tanks, but would still arrive in DC earlier than they had left, around noon, EST. Root was grateful she had no time for breakfast, as the ride probably would have forced her to use the bag provided by the pilot if she’d eaten anything before takeoff.

The sight of a the refueling aircraft settling in only yards away from the glass canopy sent shivers through the hacker’s body and gave her a new appreciation of the skills of all involved. After the initial discomfort and the adrenaline rush of the first refuel, she was able to carry on a conversation with the Machine for several hours of the flight.

All thoughts of Shaw and her personal life faded into the background as she focused on the task at hand, stopping the terrorist plot.

….

Shaw herself was awakened that morning by a call from Frankie Wells at 5:00AM.

“Emergency situation, briefing at 0600, flight out at 1030, duration of mission TBD.”

Shaw grabbed her Mission Bag after a quick shower and headed to TME headquarters. She walked into the largest meeting room in the building, set up as an auditorium with seating for 75 people. There were at least 30 in attendance, including every irrelevant asset Shaw had worked with, and a few she didn’t know.

She spotted Zoe and wandered over to sit with the former fixer.

“What’s so important that we couldn’t have breakfast?”

Morgan’s smile lacked any warmth.

“I wish I could tell you but I have no idea. I got a call from Frankie around 5:15 this morning and when I said to her that Tillman still hasn’t released me, she said, ‘That will be taken care of after the briefing.’ Whatever it is, it must be important, I’ve never seen a meeting like this before.”

As Shaw and Zoe stared at the podium at center stage. Almost as if they willed it, a door toward the front opened and Frankie Wells slipped in. Striding toward the podium, Wells set her laptop down and hit a few keys. She looked up, took a deep breath and addressed the assets.

“Our CEO is currently en route from Pretoria South Africa to Andrews Air Force Base in DC. Her plane arrives about noon our time. Several assets will accompany me in the Citation where we will meet Root she will then join us and we will fly together to Charlotte, North Carolina. The rest of you are booked on several flights to Charlotte over the next 36 hours.

“Those of you who are accompanying me will remain here for a breakfast briefing then we’ll head to Teterboro to board for DC. After I announce the assets accompanying me, the rest can leave to get packed and ready. You’ll get your ticket as you leave- don’t miss your flight. You will be briefed on arrival.

“The following assets will be heading to DC- Reese, Weston, Morgan and Shaw. The rest of you are dismissed. The four of you will meet with me in the CEO’s conference room in ten minutes.”

Shaw and Zoe wandered out of the meeting and into the hall. They saw Reese almost at the entrance to the CEO’s suite of offices engaged in an animated conversation with Wells. As the pair approached, the Executive Assistant turned and tilted her head toward the suite.

“Breakfast is in there and, as I said to Reese, the sooner we get in there, the sooner we’ll all get answers. I was only told what you just heard in the briefing and I’m as curious as you are. We all need to be in there, we all need to scan and since Blake’s already in there, we’re waiting on all of you.”

And without another word, Wells headed into the suite, down a short hall and into the CEO’s conference room. The table could seat ten comfortably, so the five of them had plenty of room to spread out. Shaw immediately went to the credenza, filled a plate with sausage’s and pastries and sat down across from Weston. Reese sat next to Weston and Morgan next to Shaw, leaving Wells at the foot of the table.

The CEO’s Executive Assistant pointed at a small device sitting at the “head” of the table.

“This is a new device designed with the Machine’s assistance, a portable retinal scanner. Each of us must scan before a message from the CEO will be opened and displayed. The email I received explained little, only instructing me to get the four of you and have each of us scan.

Weston reached for the device and, after carefully looking it over, placed his left eye over the lens. Ten seconds later, the top of the device showed a small green light. He handed the device to Reese who repeated the process and passed it to Frankie.

Finally, after Shaw successfully scanned the monitor flickered to life and the Temporary CEO’s image filled the screen. Her statements essentially repeated much of what she’d told the TICA conference earlier however she explained how the Machine revealed the target.

“For over ten hours yesterday, the machine was spitting out SSI and ID #s at the rate of 250 per minute. The first 58 belonged to NASCAR drivers, and the one race they are all entered in is the one at Charlotte. For the numbers to go that high, it has to be race day so we are looking at the Sunday before Memorial Day.

“I’ve sent Dazio, Greenfield and Casey ahead to DC to work with Logan Pierce. When you arrive, I will join you as well as Harper Rose and Joey Durban. We’ll be the point people while the four in DC will work with the Machine to locate the weapon and ID the deliverers.

“You are the best we have and the country’s best hope of stopping this before that bomb goes off. I’ve diverted all assets to this- we have a little over 72 hours to stop it. I’ll see you in DC.”

The image faded and the five stared at each other in silence.

Four hours later, the Citation X left DC with a full passenger manifest. Root, Harper and Durban had joined the five and they began working from the moment the wheels left the ground. Root paired the six assets from the irrelevant side up to assure the least amount of adjustment, meaning the two from DC were paired, Reese was teamed with Zoe and Shaw with Weston.

Shaw buried her disappointment at not being matched with the hacker, realizing the logic behind all of the pairings. She decided, in view of the threat, to keep any personal thoughts to herself until this was dealt with. She was haunted, however, by the vision of Root climbing from the fighter plane, removing her helmet and walking to the Citation in the skin tight flight suit.

_Damn, she looks hot!_

The pairs sat together going over their assignments and responsibilities once they landed in North Carolina. Shaw and Weston had worked together over a dozen times in the months Shaw had been on the team so they were comfortable with each other. Weston, despite having been on TME’s payroll longer, deferred to the former doctor realizing her skills were unmatched in the irrelevant side, with the possible exception of Reese.

Before takeoff, the temporary CEO addressed the group.

“This is obviously the gravest threat TME has faced, but also the gravest threat the US has faced in the last 50 years. In addition, the nature of the threat means we are going to all be at risk over the next few days. I want you all to know one of the reasons I’ve left the four back here in DC to work is She will need someone to put the pieces back together if our efforts don’t succeed.

“I plan to be at that racetrack until such time as we either stop the threat or run out of time. I know all of you have thrown yourselves in harm’s way for this mission in the past and don’t doubt you’ll do it again. I want you all to know I appreciate it and so does She, as much as She can.

I’m not telling you this to put the fear of God into you, just to reassure you that the risks are obvious to me and to Her and that we know what we’re asking of you- the same thing we asked of you when you were recruited.”

Shaw marveled again at the people she worked with and their commitment to TME. It was very similar to the commitment she had seen in the Marines. Men and women willing to risk everything for a country that at times didn’t even want to acknowledge their existence much less show appreciation for their sacrifice.

Despite her belief that she didn’t do feelings, she was filled with pride at the group of men and women she’d be going into battle with over the next few days. If she didn’t survive this, her only regret would be that she didn’t have time to work out the unresolved issues with Root.

….

In Charlotte, Shaw headed to the Speedway to recon the best places to hide a weapon as large as the tactical nuke would undoubtedly be. The Machine’s estimate was the size of a fifty five gallon drum. After watching clips of Raceday in the past, she realized the immense challenge locating the bomb would present.

The infield alone would have hundreds of vehicles, most large enough to secret a weapon the size of the threat. Without searching each one as it entered, a logistical nightmare, the task of finding the nuke looked impossible. Further complicating the problem was the fact that campers had been gathering for two days already.

TME assets were teaming with intelligence agents from around the world to comb the infield and search the perimeter. The Machine was spitting out numbers but seemed unable to locate the one clue which would help them to locate the bomb.

TME’s command center was in one of the hotels less than a mile and a half from the track. The Machine, in tandem with the US government arranged access to the hotel’s Executive Offices and several meeting rooms for briefings and meals.

The Machine also rearranged reservations for six RV sites inside the oval so large motor coaches could be on site for assets to sleep and take care of other necessities. The displaced people who originally had the sites were placated by placement at sites a few miles away, limo service to and from the raceway, VIP passes and checks for $25,000 each.

Shaw headed over to the hotel after scoping the track for their initial briefing. The eight who’d flown down were joined by a couple of late arrivals the day before the race, Dr. Megan Tillman, who was going to be isolated a mile from the track as the race approached, flew down in the company of four agents familiar to Shaw from her recruiting tour: Novena, the Italian sharpshooter, Pieter, Gabriella and Tomas, who approached Shaw the first time they encountered each other.

TME’s temporary CEO stood off to the side as she observed the reunion, mask firmly in place. Shaw entered the conference room where the morning briefing was to take place, then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the darkly handsome ex-thief. She hesitated, then, as Tomas approached her, she turned away and walked to the other side of the conference table.

Tomas’ face fell slightly but he recovered and took a seat on the side away from where the former doctor sat. He looked over, trying to catch the tiny Persian’s eye but failed as she was staring straight at the table in front of her. When all had seated themselves, Root approached and sat at the head of the conference table, Frankie Wells at her immediate right. Reese sat at her immediate left with Zoe next to him.

Shaw without realizing it, had taken the seat next to the CEO’s executive assistant and looked up as Novena sat next to her with a smile on her face. The former doctor nodded at her sharpshooting partner, then turned her eyes toward Root who was opening her laptop and entering several commands.

The monitor behind her came to life with a map of the speedway and several areas shaded in green. The majority of the speedway, stands and the racers’ garage area were shaded in red.

Shaw glanced over at the screen then allowed her gaze to fall on the hacker.

As their eyes met, then held as if battling to see who’s gaze would falter first, Shaw allowed her stare to soften but refused to look away. Root noticed the change and her face reflected a brief moment of confusion before the mask came back down and she surrendered. She looked away from the former doctor and looked over the room.

“We have less than 48 hours until the race and our progress has been limited. We know the threat but so far She’s been unable to narrow it down to something we can work with. We need more information and we need it fast. There’s no protocol for a situation like this but She has determined that teams of three is most efficient. She has also determined the optimal three person teams.

“Reese and Zoe will be joined by Gabriella. Harper and Joey will stay together and be joined by Pieter.”

Shaw began to feel apprehensive about what was coming. They wouldn’t? Would they?

“She believes Blake should pair with Frankie and myself leaving Shaw to team up with Novena and....”

“No. Fucking. Way.”

Shaw was on her feet, face red and eyes flashing.

“Let the two of them team up- I’ll go out alone. I don’t care what She thinks, that’s a bad idea.”

The CEO frowned at the tiny Persian. Her face remained neutral but her eyes seemed to pulse emotion as if she was on the verge of exploding herself.

“Is there an issue Shaw?”

The former doctor’s face reddened even more and she raised her hand only to drop it when she realized that the hand, as well as her entire body, was shaking.

“I think you and I had better step outside, Madame CEO, I don’t think we should have this conversation in here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a cliffhanger here, I'll get the next chapter up ASAP. Please let me know what you think. You comments have all been appreciated and continue to fuel me. :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A relevant threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter speaks for itself.

“I think you and I had better step outside, Madame CEO, I don’t think we should have this conversation in here.”

The former doctor turned and walked to the back of the conference room and out the door. Root stood in silence for a few seconds, then without acknowledging anyone, walked out after the asset. She found Shaw pacing about fifteen feet down the hallway.

Shaw looked up and, seeing the hacker, tilted her head toward the exit.

“Outside.”

Root followed, her temper starting to get the best of her. As she exited the building into a half full parking lot that was almost deserted, Shaw spun around, her face still red. Her hands, the former doctor noted with satisfaction, had stopped shaking as she exerted a steely control over her countenance.

_Don’t make it worse than it is._

The temporary CEO stalked up to the tiny Persian, eyes flashing.

“What the hell, Shaw, that….”

She was cut off by the former doctor’s hand going up.

“No- you are going to listen to me first. Last time you slammed the door in my face after basically trying to rip my head off- then flew off to South Africa, with a stop in Israel by the way, leaving me to try and figure out what the hell had just happened.

“This time, you get to listen to me. It won’t take long and if we all get out of this alive, you’re welcome to fire me when we’re done with the mission. But you and your infernal Machine will not, I repeat, _Will Not_ , team me up with him. One of you has a sick fucking sense of humor.

“No, let me finish. When we were in Barcelona, I slept with Tomas. I did it, _I thought_ , because I was going to prove to both of us that what we did the night before was nothing but what I’ve always done- a little physical activity without meaning.

“It wasn’t until much later that I realized the real reason. Oh don’t get me wrong, when I saw your face outside the door of our room the day we left, I was uncomfortable, but I didn’t understand what it was. Regret.

“Then we came back here and for months I’ve been watching you and learning more about you from a distance and I’ve finally realized that I did what I did with Tomas because I was scared, scared of the feelings you’d caused me to have, feelings I denied I had.

“I didn’t do feelings, didn’t want them didn’t need them. So when they snuck up on me I did the one thing i thought would help me regain my equilibrium- I found somebody to fuck. It was my defense for what was happening to me- _and it was wrong._

“I came back here conflicted- part of me wanted to tell you to take your job and shove it, I obviously listened to the other part, the part that was turned on by the adventure, the excitement and, quite frankly, the opportunity to be around you.

“But that never materialized, because of what I did. I get it- I fucked it up. Don’t you, or your Machine rub it in my face by teaming me with him. It won’t work, not because I’d be distracted by any attraction to him, but because he will remind me of what I did to destroy any chance I might have had with you.

“I can focus on the mission, but don’t make me waste precious energy keeping my mind on what we’re doing here when I should be concentrating on trying to stop this. It’s counterproductive and not logical.”

Shaw stopped briefly and shook her head, then took a deep breath.

“Finally, I realized when I was out there earlier looking for clues that if this doesn’t work, we’ll probably both be dead. My biggest regret would have been that I didn’t come clean to you about everything, including how much I wish we had had a chance.

“Now at least I’ve done that. I’m going to head back to the track and nose around- have Novena and Tomas team up, I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

And she turned and walked away, leaving the CEO standing speechless. By the time she regained her equilibrium, Shaw had disappeared around the building. Shaking her head, the hacker walked back into the building.

….

The simple solution would have been to cancel the race, however the thought that any activity could set the terrorists off and have them detonate the device remotely forced a decision on the teams to just continue to search and hope they found the device in time.

It was a poor choice, but the least bad of the few options remaining.

The rest of the day saw lots of action but little progress. Shaw spent hours combing the campgrounds, finally wandering into one of their RV’s around 0230 for a nap. She awakened just after 0600 when some moron set off a firecracker a couple campers away from her. The dream, fading as she came fully awake, left her cold.

_Shaw was standing next to Root as she worked feverishly on a device that looked like the bombs featured in the Road Runner cartoon- everything but ACME. As the hacker pried open the top and began to look inside, she heard a beeping noise._

_Root looked at Shaw, resignation in her eyes._

_“We’re too late, it’s going to…..”_

The sound of the M80 going off a short distance away shot the former doctor up in her bunk where she hit her head on the mattress above. Fortunately it had padding over the bar she hit so she only embarrassed herself. Also fortunately, there was no one sleeping up there to disturb and have to explain to.

_Not going back to sleep after that._

She climbed out of bed, threw some clothes on and grabbed coffee on her way out to continue searching. Most of the morning was spent again around the campgrounds before the former doctor turned her attention to the area where the race vehicles were kept.

The area teemed with activity as each teams’ crews were making final adjustments before the race. As she walked the area she noticed several doors closed and only a guard standing in front of it.

She approached one and showed her “Press ID”.

“Why no activity here? The place is swarming with people trying to get that last few miles-per-hour out of their race cars. Why nothing here?”

The guard smiled.

“You’ve never been here before, I see. The teams that failed to qualify today still have their units stored here, it’s logistically impossible to remove all their equipment, not to mention their cars, until after the race. Most of the teams that didn’t qualify are still at their hotels, they’ll be here by race time.

“The people here are competitors, miss, but they’re also fans. They wouldn’t miss the race just because they didn’t qualify. But they have no reason to be here so they’ll show up a couple hours before the race and watch it, like the 150,000 other fans.”

The guard’s words set off a nagging feeling in the back of the asset’s mind. She spent the next fifteen minutes wandering the area, checking on the teams and the handful of closed doors indicating non-qualifiers.

She suddenly stopped short. She keyed her comm and was connected to Root.

“Root, I think it’s hidden in one of the units the non-qualifiers were in. They aren’t around today and their units are locked and guarded by security. We need to check them all. Get whoever is in charge of Security up to speed and get everyone on board you can checking the units.”

She walked back to the guard she had originally approached and pulled a different ID.

“I’m Secret Service, working under cover. We have a credible threat against the race today, and I believe the people responsible are using a non-qualifier’s unit as a base of operation. I need to get in and check this unit and any others nearby until we find the right one or eliminate this as a lead.”

When the guard hesitated, Shaw reached for his belt and removed his radio.

“Call your boss.”

The guard shook his head and took the radio out of the asset’s hand.

“HQ this is Stannis, do you have a copy?”

There was no answer for several long seconds, then a voice through some static.

“Stand by Stannis, we have a situation here where we may have to check on some unattended units. There’s a credible threat that needs investigating.”

“Roger that.”

The guard put the radio back and reached for a ring of keys hooked to his belt.

“That’s enough confirmation for me, let’s have a peek.”

The guard opened the unit. Ten minutes was all it took to clear the unit. Shaw looked at the guard.

“Do you know have a key for the rest of the units that are locked up?”

“This key opens them all.”

“Lock this one and let’s start checking.”

Fifteen minutes later, the pair approached the third unit. As with the second, Stannis instructed the guard to head to the unit they’d just cleared after a quick explanation. As the guard headed off, they turned to the lock and opened it, sliding the door up.

A short burst of gunfire sent Stannis flying back, blood pouring from several wounds. Shaw was rolling as she pulled her weapon and fired into the figure holding an automatic rifle as he tried to bring it to bear on the former doctor.

Shaw keyed her comm.

“Root, shots fired at unit 48. Guard down and probably dead. I got the shooter, but we need to check this area for the device now. I’m going in.”

“Shaw, stand by until we have reinforcements. They’re on their way.”

“Sorry, no time for that.”

The former doctor pulled out her flashlight and entered the darkened storage unit. Within two minutes she had a sinking feeling. She once again keyed the comm.

“Root.. it’s here.”

The silence on the other end was interrupted by Stannis’ radio chattering to life about the shots fired at the storage unit. Shaw turned off the radio.

“Root, did you copy?”

“We’re on out way.”

Shaw checked the perimeter then went back to the device, which had been hidden in plain sight- a three foot square crate about six feet long sitting with several other crates along the back wall of the unit. The lid was simple to pry off and once Shaw saw the cylindrical object taking up almost all of the crate she knew.

Disarming it was going to be difficult to impossible without getting the crate out in the open. The former doctor located a dolly and a hydraulic jack against the far wall and managed to get the front of the crate about a foot off the ground by the time reinforcements arrived.

Reese flew into the unit followed by Weston, Zoe and Novena. Shaw indicated a small creeper (the kind mechanics use to slide under vehicles) she had located sitting next to a pair of jack stands.  
“We need to use the stands to keep the end up until we can get the creeper far enough in to balance the crate and roll it out. You can’t work on it while it’s in there.”

As Reese and Weston set the jack stands in place, Shaw lowered the jack and removed it so the creeper could slide under. It wasn’t quite high enough. Just as they were about to slide the jack back and raise the crate more, Tomas and Root came through the garage door. Tomas looked at the crate, then at the other men.

“The three of us can lift it enough to slide that thing in far enough. Let’s go.”

Seconds later, they slowly slid the crate out into the open. Root stared at it, then looked over at the former jewel thief.

“Looks like the last one- and that reminded me of a casket.”

Tomas shook his head.

“Don’t want to hear it.”

As the crate cleared the other boxes stacked around it, the entire group was so focused on the crate and the object inside, they failed to notice movement coming from the back seat of the race car only a few feet away.

….

Fazil Sadir had fallen asleep. To be fair, the pair had been locked in the storage unit for almost two days and it was _hot_ \- hotter than the  _allaenat alsahrawia_ in July. It was Mehdi’s watch, and Fazil had fallen asleep. The shots Mehdi got off before he was killed by the _eahira_ woke him up and it was only by Allah’s good will that he didn’t fly up and catch a bullet himself.

He reached for his weapon, then realized he’d left it in the front seat of the race car. He was sleeping in where the back seat would be if it had not been removed in the conversion. The pair had laid an air mattress in the back seat area so they could rest while the other stood guard.

As he heard the bitch calling for back up, he realized he had not only left the uzi in the front seat, he’d left the remote for the detonator on the dashboard. To reach it he’d have to sit up, move into the front and almost to the driver door to be able to grab it. To activate the detonator and set off _hukm allah_ , he’d have to have at least ten seconds.

He reached around the driver’s seat, located the uzi and sat back thinking through his next move. Before he could formulate a plan, more bodies flew into the unit. Fazil’s mind raced as he realized the American fascists would realize he was there eventually and he had to make his move as soon as possible.

He waited as the infidels pulled the crate containing hukm and as the group huddled around the crate he made his move. Realizing he might not be able to kill them all with his gun, he decided to risk exposure by reaching for the remote while holding the uzi in his left hand.

Once he had it, he would be able to duck below the windows of the car and set it off before they could kill him. His death would be the stuff of legend as he enjoyed his reward and avenged the deaths of his two brothers at the hands of the army of the Great Satan.

Fazil raised up and reached for the remote, as his hand closed on it, he saw the eahira who’d killed Mehdi turn her head. His left hand pulled the trigger of the uzi as her gun came up and as he saw the muzzle flash he had two brief thoughts before he died.

_She looks Arab._

_Killed by a woman._

….

Shaw was watching as Weston, Reese and Tomas got the crate clear and began slowly removing the sides of the crate so Root and the former jewel thief could begin disarming it. Something was nagging at her subconscious as she watched the hacker already firing up her laptop as prelude to disabling the device.

Her eyes travelled over to the race car only a few feet away from where the bomb currently sat. As she looked around the unit, she suddenly realized she had seen movement and a thought came into sharp focus.

_There had to be two guarding this, it’s been in here a couple of days._

Her weapon was coming up before the thought was fully formed. She saw the barrel of the uzi coming to bear and fired once. The first round from the automatic weapon caught her in the vest slightly below her right breast, spinning her slightly.

The barrel flashed as the shooter managed to get off five shots before his brain realized he was dead. While his head was exploding in a jumble of blood, bone and brain matter, his finger stayed reflexively on the trigger just long enough.

The second round entered just below the Persian asset’s left armpit traveled through her lung and lodged in her lower back, less than a quarter of an inch from where the Renal artery joins the kidney. The final three shots went harmlessly into the floor behind the crate, through the corrugated steel wall and into some tires stacked in the adjoining unit.

Shaw felt the darkness sliding over her within seconds. As it descended, she felt no regret, only satisfaction that she’d done her job and done it well. Her vision was slowly fading but she saw Root’s face only inches above hers, eyes welling with tears. With all the strength she could muster, the former doctor smiled.

“Diffuse the bomb, Root, that’s all that matters- or I’ll have died for nothing.”

The hacker shook her head as the tears spilled out and trickled down her cheeks.

“You’re not dying on me Sameen, not now, you can’t.”

The darkness was almost total now, but Shaw managed one last comment before it came completely down.

“I wish we’d had more time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> allaenat alsahrawia- damn desert  
> eahira- whore  
> hukm allah- judgement of god
> 
> Don't hate me


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt the need to post this as soon as possible after the last chapter.

“Root, we’ve got work to do.”

Reese’s hand was on her shoulder and he gently turned her back toward the device, now exposed for her and Tomas to work on. She stood and, as she approached the bomb, glared at Reese.

“Call security and get her to the medics… no wait, get her to Dr. Tillman, there’s a helicopter around to transport accident victims. Now!”

As Reese headed out to get Shaw medical attention, attention he was certain was a waste of time, Root took several deep breaths and got herself under control. Tears were still staining her cheeks as she knelt by the device and looked at the former jewel thief who was also crying.

“She’s right, we have to disable the bomb before it goes off. We’ve done this before, we can do it again.”

The laptop was hooked up and within seconds the code appeared on screen.

6-3-7-2-0

The hacker inputted the numbers and as before, the top six inches separated from the rest of the device. As Tomas reached in and removed the cover, he glanced down and looked back at Root in horror.

“Timer’s set for five minutes, and it just started running. Must have been a fail-safe.”

Root looked in then smiled without humor.

“The good news is, it’s the same type of detonator, we just need to cut the wires in the correct sequence. The bad news is, they look like they’ve been disguised like the other one.”

The hacker hit a couple of keys on her laptop.

“Green, black, red and gray in that order.”

Tomas pulled a blade from his pocket and set to work stripping the extra coat of insulation off the wires. As they were working, a crew arrived with a gurney, loaded the Persian asset on and left. The sound of a helicopter touching down, then lifting off was a small diversion from the problem they faced as Tomas worked feverishly on the wires.

Root peeked inside and saw the timer had reached 2:15. She grabbed the wire cutters and took some more deep breaths.

“If you can’t do it, I’ll cut them by best guess. She thinks She might have the pattern.”

“I’ve got two, only one to go. Wait, give me another minute.”

As the former thief worked to strip the last wire, Root forced thoughts of the former doctor from her mind, there would be time for whatever aftermath there was if, and only if they could defuse the device in the next couple of minutes. The seconds ticked by, counted off in the hacker’s ear by the Machine.

As the countdown went under a minute, and Root reached for the timer, Tomas’ voice croaked at her.

“Got it, this one’s green.

 _Snip_ \- no explosion, no flash.

“Black.”

 _Snip_ \- still no explosion.

“Red”

 _Snip_ \- nothing.

“Last one.”

 _Snip_ \- Root looked up at Tomas, they stared at each other. The former thief peeked at the display.

“Twenty-three seconds to spare.”

He turned his head and vomited.

….

Root experienced less than ten seconds of satisfaction, then her thoughts turned to a certain Persian firecracker who’d saved her life months before and who had now saved the country from another horror, not to mention over 100,000 souls. She sprang to her feet and headed for their command center. Within fifteen minutes, specialists from Defense were en route to take control of the device and ensure it’s destruction.

Root left for the hospital after giving the orders. Even with a police escort, the trip took over forty minutes, as the pre-race traffic was tied up in knots. The only information she could get from her constant attempts to contact the hospital was that Shaw was in surgery and there would be no information until Dr. Tillman was out of the OR.

The Machine was no help either, only telling the hacker Shaw was in serious condition and the doctors were doing what they could. Root’s thoughts alternated between praying to a God she wasn’t sure she believed in, and reflecting on what could have been and, if a miracle happened, what could still be.

When the hacker finally arrived at the hospital, she was directed to the seventh floor, where she was directed to a small waiting room only a few yards from the OR. Time dragged on. Every hour Root glanced up at the clock to see that another five minutes had passed. She refused the offer of coffee in favor of pacing then sitting, then sitting and pacing.

Within an hour Frankie, Zoe and Reese arrived. Weston, Tomas and the rest of the assets were still at the race track ensuring proper clean up of the site. Root personally called the former jewel thief and told him she would update him as soon as she knew anything. The four sat uselessly staring at nothing as the time passed.

Finally, Root looked up at the others and insisted they go down to the dining room and get something to eat.

“We’re not doing any good up here and you can bring me something back when you’re finished. I can’t leave until I know… I know… one way or another.”

Her voice trailed off as tears once again came trickling down her cheeks. The others silently left the room.

Root watched as the clock continued to crawl. Shaw had now been in surgery over three hours which could be considered a good sign- the longer she was being worked on, the better the chances she’d survive. At least that’s what the hacker told herself.

She stirred as someone entered the waiting room. She glanced around the room where the three had returned and were all dozing. Root herself had nodded off and noted by the time she had been out for over ninety minutes. Shaking her head to clear it, she saw Dr. Tillman standing just inside the door, her surgical gown covered in blood. She still wore her mask.

Root stood, shaking and approached the doctor. She couldn’t speak, the lump in her throat took a long time to clear. Finally, she croaked out a single word.

“Well?”

Dr. Tillman indicated the chair the hacker had just vacated.

“Why don’t you sit down.”

The shaking increased, bordering on uncontrollable. She grabbed the doctor’s arm, face red and eyes filling.

“Tell me. Is she dead?”

“Root, sit down. Please. She’s still alive, but it’s not as simple as that.”

Root fell back into the chair, relief flashing across her face, only to be replaced by panic.

“What do you mean? Is she going to make it?”

Dr. Tillman realized her mask was still in place and removed it. Her eyes showed her exhaustion but she kept her face expressionless.

“She’s been through a lot, but she’s tough… I’ll say that for her. She died three times on the table and each time we got her back. She got seven pints of blood which means almost all of hers has been replaced. Some of the best trauma surgeons in the country were here because of the race and a conference this week, three scrubbed in and… well without them, we would have lost her.

“She’s in Recovery now and the next forty-eight hours are critical. If we can get her through them she’s got a good chance. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can give you… hell, Root, she _should_ be dead. That she isn’t, well, it’s more than a testimony to the skill of the team that worked on her.

“Someone was looking out for her, the one bullet missed her Renal artery by a quarter of an inch. If that had been nicked, she’d of bled out before she got here. Plus, she’s one tough cookie… I don’t know, maybe deep down she felt she had something to live for.”

The doctor smiled at her boss, then took her hand.

“Root, I’ve seen you in these situations before and this one’s different. You’re always concerned about everyone on the team and when one gets injured, you’re always there if you can be to offer comfort and support. But this woman seems to have worked her way under your skin. Do you mind if I ask why?”

The hacker looked forlornly up at the woman who’d treated so many of TME’s assets over the past several years. Once again, tears welled in her eyes.

“You know that she’s the one who saved my life last year. We didn’t meet till much later and it’s been crazy, that’s for sure. But Megan, I’ve never met anyone like her, and it’s more than gratitude for saving me, it’s more than her history- Marines, ISA, doctor then our asset.

“I feel like we were made for each other… and like she may very well be the _only_ one for me. She said she doesn’t do relationships, but she also said she wishes she hadn’t messed things up with me. So maybe she thinks I might be her only chance as well.

“I don’t know what it is… but she’s special. And if I get her back, I’m going to spend a lot of time showing her how special she really is.”

….

The days went by and the former doctor remained in a medically-induced coma. Originally intended to get her through the first twenty four hours post-op, she’d been unresponsive to the doctors’ efforts to bring her around. Dr. Tillman assured Root that the prognosis was as positive as possible under the circumstances, but that they’d just have to wait and see.

“Every day she’s making progress. When she wakes up we’ll be able to see how much recovery and therapy she’ll require. Comas are funny things- we don’t understand what goes on inside when a patient is in one. You and the rest of her teammates are the best thing for her now- you need to be near her, encouraging her even though it seems like she can’t hear you.

“There have been cases where coma victims come around and remember entire conversations that went on while they were still ‘out’. Sometimes, the encouragement of loved ones is the catalyst to a patient’s returning to consciousness.”

Root spent the first twenty-four hours at Shaw’s bedside. During the second day, Frankie Wells, Zoe and Reese convinced her to get showered and take a few hours to nap somewhere other than the recliner next to the bed. By evening, the hacker was back in the recliner, holding the former doctor’s hand and talking softly to her for hours on end.

By the end of the third day, they had established a routine. Root took several small breaks during the day where Zoe and Reese would relieve her, then the CEO would spend the night in the recliner next to Shaw’s bed. When morning dawned on the fourth day, Reese came in early and told Root that Tomas was there and asking if he could see the former doctor.

Root stood, and headed for the door.

“I’ll talk to him.”

She stalked out of Shaw’s room and headed straight for the former jewel thief. Her irritation at his coming began to dissolve as she saw his appearance. The darkly handsome man looked like he’d aged ten years. His face was gaunt and his eyes haunted. Root swallowed her irritation and approached the man who’d helped her disable not one but two weapons of mass destruction.

“You look like shit.”

Koroa raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile playing across his face.

“Have _you_ looked in a mirror recently?”

The hacker huffed out a laugh.

“Touché… Tomas, what are you doing here?”

The smile came back, still faint.

“I wanted to ask if I could see her before I go. The bomb’s been taken care of, the race finally went off, although the start was delayed an hour- ‘system problems’ was the stated reason. I’m going back to Spain with Gabriella, Pieter and Novena- the numbers keep on coming no matter what is going on… or no matter who is recovering.”

Seeing the conflict on Root’s face, he pushed on.

“Look, I get it- the two of you… well you’ve got something. The morning after she and I… she and I, well the morning after, she made it clear the two of us had no future. Then, again at the airport, she made it clear.

“When I arrived here a few days ago, I admit I hoped things had changed between the two of you so I might still have a chance. I was disappointed but not surprised to find there was no chance with her.. and probably never would be.

“Hell, I’ve seen the way she looks at you.. it’s the same look Frankie’s had for all the time I’ve known the two of you. She’s in love with you… whether she’ll admit it, whether she even knows it yet or not.

“I’ve never met anyone like her… if I’m being honest, I’ve never met anyone like you either. The difference is obvious, but the pull would be similar if you… if you liked…. well, if you were _different_. I’m not getting any younger and meeting someone like Shaw, well it showed me that the way I’ve lived won’t give me any real long term contentment.

“I’m going back to Barcelona to take a long hard look at myself. I owe you big time, boss lady, for reforming me and giving me a legitimacy I never deserved nor thought I’d ever have. I owe her as well, for opening my eyes to my shallow existence as far as my life outside of our little enterprise.

“I’d like to say goodbye to her, if it’s OK with you. She means a lot to me, even if I have no chance… hell Root, you mean a lot to me… I just could never figure out how to deal with that particular fact when it came to you. I guess I’d like to say goodbye to both of you.”

Root was moved, in spite of herself. As her eyes began to sting, she shook her head at the former jewel thief.

“Shit, Tomas, I think I liked it better when you were an insufferable asshole. Go in and say whatever you need to say to her. I’ll be out here.”

….

The former thief entered the room quietly. Reese looked up and saw Koroa and also saw Root standing behind him. She tilted her head at John, indicating he should leave the room. The two stood looking uncomfortable until the hacker suggested they head to the nurses’ station for some coffee.

They returned to the waiting area just outside Shaw’s room and sat down to wait.

....

Tomas sat next to the bed and gazed over at the former doctor. He gently took her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her palm.

“You know, we haven’t spent any time at all together but you’ve managed to turn my world upside down in spite of that fact. I’m going back to Spain, but wanted to say goodbye to you before I left. Your girlfriend was gracious enough to give me some time with you alone.

“Yes I said girlfriend because it’s so obvious what you two have, even if neither of you is ready to see it or admit it. You’re both… well if not _in love_ , then your on your way to being in love if the two of you don’t find a way to mess it up. And I’ve seen you around each other and know that it’s possible you could- fuck this up, that is.

“And that would be a huge mistake for you both. I’m just beginning to realize how short our time here is… a couple encounters with nukes will do that to you. At the end of the day, if you have someone you’ve connected with, hell loved, it means this time has been worthwhile.

“If you leave here without that… well your life can still be meaningful, but I think it would be incomplete- especially if the two of you walk away from an opportunity to connect. I’ll always wish it would have been different, but I get it… and I wish the two of you well.”

And he sat there, holding the former doctor’s hand for a few minutes. Then, standing, he leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek, and then, just before leaving.

“God, I’m going to miss you.”

….

Root looked up as the former thief came through the door to Shaw’s room. She could feel the sadness in his body language and see the wetness in his eyes. She knew that look, she’d had that look, and it gave her an empathy for the darkly handsome asset that she had never felt before. She walked toward him and took both of his hands in hers.

“You OK?”

Tomas smiled sadly and nodded.

“I feel stupid, I’ve hardly spent any time with her at all yet I fell like I’m walking away from the most important thing that’s happened to me since you rescued me from my past.

“And I feel I need to tell you what I told her, because one of you needs to be able to remember it. You two have something special- it’s just beginning, but it’s still obvious. You, of all people, know how short this life is- we both just faced down certain death for the second time in less than a year.

“You’re both strong willed and stubborn people, but you need to give this thing between the two of you a chance, because it’s one of the most important legacies you can leave- a relationship with another _human_. That’s right, Root, I said human.

“You have a relationship with an entity that can’t reciprocate your feelings for it. That’s right, I said it even though I know you like to refer to the Machine as _her_. I said it deliberately because you need to realize that while you are her analogue interface and her closest human confidant, _she can never love you and if something happens to you, she can replace you and go on like you were never there._

“If that’s harsh, I’m sorry, but I think you need to hear it. You’re flesh and blood, Madame CEO and no relationship with an AI, no matter how powerful, is going to change the fact that you’re human. And I’ve seen enough of you to know you not only should have someone, you deserve someone, someone who’ll treat you like the amazing, awesome compassionate person you are.

“You’re not tied to your past, you’ve changed. The Machine, your life since you’ve been a part of this team, it’s changed you. You’re not the immoral hacker and killer that you started out as, you’ve changed. And you deserve happiness.

“I hope you keep your head out of your ass long enough to find it.”

And, as her head came up, eyes flashing, Tomas smiled at her and winked. Then, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. When he straightened up, his eyes were misting just slightly.

“Never thought I’d say this, but I’ll miss you. Can’t wait to work with you again.”

And he was gone, walking down the hall toward the elevator. Root, moved by his words and their sincerity, stared as he reached the lift and stepped past the doors.

_What the hell? How did he do that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that most of our characters are slightly OOC, I'm interested in what you think, Remember, your comments drive my creativity. ;)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little fluff (I needed a little fluff after the last few chapters) :D

_Shaw became vaguely aware of a beeping noise. As more sensations assailed her, she realized she hurt like hell. She opened her eyes briefly, then slammed them shut as bright whiteness sent her head spinning off in pain and vertigo._

She moaned.

….

Root heard something coming from the bed the former doctor had been in for almost four days. It was faint, yet discernible- a soft moan. She sat up in the recliner, reached over and took the Persian firecracker’s hand.

“Sameen, can you hear me?”

….

_A voice from… somewhere… ‘Sameen, can you hear me?’_

Shaw knows that voice.

_It’s… it’s… it’s… damn, I know who that is… I can see her face… so many versions… dead on a gurney in a hospital… smoking hot in a red dress…. in, then out of skinny jeans and a white long sleeved shirt… face smoldering with passion, skin aflame and setting me on fire… angry, hurt, disappointed… apathetic, impassive and uncaring…. then angry again._

_Finally sad, almost desperate as tears cascaded down her face, I looked up at her and…_

“Root.”

The word came out like a muffled croak, but it was understandable, and might have been the most beautiful sound the hacker turned CEO had heard since she first heard the sounds from her goddess.

Root’s smile could have split her face.

_No, this is better… way better._

The hacker leaned forward then, after a few seconds, lifted the petite Persian’s head slightly. Shaw felt cool moisture at her lips.

“It’s ice, crushed ice. Let it melt in your mouth. When you get used to it and can swallow, we’ll get you more. You can have all you want, Sweetie, but you’ve got to take it slow until you can drink on your own.”

The former doctor nodded and followed instructions. After a couple of moments, she indicated she wanted more, then cleared her throat.

“I think I could sip some water.”

Root held a straw to her lips. Shaw felt incredible, cooling relief.

“Easy baby, not too fast… sorry.”

The former doctor slowed her sipping and nodded. She forced herself to drink slowly and swallow small amounts.

_Did she call me baby?_

After a few minutes, Shaw held up her hand and again cleared her throat.

“Up, a little?”

The bed rose slightly just as a nurse entered the room with a huge smile on her face.

“Well look who’s awake. Dr. Tillman’s on her way down now.. she was here about an hour ago and said she’d be back to check on you after lunch. Looks like you have your own schedule Ms. Shaw.”

Root looked over at the nurse.

“It’s Shaw, just Shaw. Or Dr. Shaw.”

The nurse nodded.

“Of course, sorry. The doctor will be right in.”

She began checking Shaw’s vitals, busying herself to avoid any conversation with the two who had become legends in the few days they had lived in room 903. The woman with Dr. Shaw had insisted the patient receive special treatment but would not accept anything special for herself, despite hospital administrators slipping in and out of the room like acolytes of some goddess.

And if the stories were true, they were both goddesses of sorts. Hushed stories of a weapon of mass destruction set to disrupt the NASCAR race last week stopped by the patient and her visitor, who was as much a permanent resident of 903 as Shaw herself.

The doctor taking a bullet meant for the woman who sat vigil at her side after defusing some sort of device that would supposedly have caused major havoc around the city during the race. It was impressive stuff that Charly, if she ever got the whole story, would be able to tell around the campfire on weekends for at least five years or so.

Finally Dr. Tillman flew through the door and rescued the nurse who turned over her chart and left without a word.

“Shaw, welcome back. You really had us worried for awhile. We had to get you your own private nurse to watch over you while you were resting.”

She nodded at Root, who was beaming through the tears in her eyes.

“This one wouldn’t leave your side no matter what we told her. We finally had to agree to allowing Reese or Zoe Morgan in here to spell her before she’d even agree to go down to the cafeteria and eat.

“I think she likes you.”

Tillman set to work on checking Shaw’s vitals then, after a few minutes, grabbed the small stool with wheels that was stuck over by the monitors. She slid it to the side of the bed and sat down. She smiled and also took the former doctor’s hand.

“The good news is you are going to eventually recover and be one hundred percent. The bullet, while traveling through the lung and ending just short of the Renal artery, only caused trauma that won’t have far reaching consequences.

“Once you heal, there’ll be a time of PT but there was no other issue that would preclude a return to full activities, both within your duties for TME and on your own.”

Dr. Tillman then looked at Root.

“Would you mind if I talked to her alone for just a couple of minutes?”

The hacker nodded, still smiling.

“Of course, I’ll be outside.”

Once the door closed, Dr. Tillman turned back to her patient.

“Shaw, you should have died, I can’t explain why you’re still here without discussing metaphysical stuff that makes many uncomfortable. What I can explain, and hope I can get you to realize, is how much that woman cares for you.

“I can tell you a couple of things without violating privilege, because while she has been my patient in the past, the last few days she’s been like a family member, and some of the things she related may impact the recovery process.

“I’ve known her for a long time, I was rescued by the Machine before Root was even a part of this. I’ve seen who and what she was, and I’ve seen who and what she became. I’ve seen her do things I didn’t think were possible, take abuse I didn’t think was tolerable by any human and I think I’ve gotten to know her as well as almost any other person.

“In all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her react to another like she has with you. I know you believe you have the Axis II thing and maybe we should talk a little about that.

“I want you to think about the research you undoubtably did when you first self-diagnosed and remember how rare the purest cases of that disorder are.

“I’ve talked to your teammates and I’ve come to my own diagnosis re your condition. Understand without a team of psychologists and psychiatrists your condition can’t be accurately diagnosed and even then there are gray areas. Even with that, and unanimous agreement that says ‘Axis II’, there’s still some doubt and there always will be.

“What I believe, and this is from observation and anecdotal evidence, is that you have issues with emotions and feelings, but you are _not_ totally lacking in them. For example, you do anger very well indeed. You also seem to like animals, especially canines, and some of your reactions to them borders on love.

“I know a little of your personal history, including the fact that you lost your father at an early age.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the trauma of that loss caused you to subconsciously refuse to ever allow the same thing to happen again. You took emotions and feelings you did have and repressed them and continued to repress them until the habit was ingrained and they ceased being a problem for you.

“An imperfect analogy- feelings and emotions are like music played through an amplifier and through a set of speakers. You can’t disconnect the power so you listen, the playlist is infinite so the music never stops. Current selections on a playlist consist of a style of music that makes you sick to your stomach.

“Rap, blues, country, pop, it doesn’t matter what that particular style is, to you it sucks. If you have to listen to it for any longer, you’re going to go crazy. You walk over to the amplifier and there’s no power button, so you can’t turn it off, but as you’re looking it over, you discover the volume control, and it works.

“The playlist seems endless, so you do what seems logical to you at the time, you turn it down. You don’t consider that the playlist might change and after a long while you forget how the volume control works. After an even longer time, you forget the amplifier was ever there and that there ever was music that bothered you.

“You now think there’s no music, but if someone came in and turned the volume up, you would be confronted with something you had forgotten, over time, even existed.

“In your case, Root has turned the volume up, but you reached out and stopped her from cranking it higher, because, deep down, your memory is that the last time this happened bad things resulted. So you stopped her rather than take the chance that the playlist might have changed into something enjoyable.

“I think the feelings are there, and if you give them a chance you may find something wonderful that you never believed could exist for you. It’s also possible that it could go badly, but that what makes life so amazing, so awesome, so wonderful.

“I can’t tell you to give it a chance with her, but I can tell you what I’ve seen and what I’ve come to believe is that you both might be each other’s only shot. For our Analog Interface, an opportunity to have a relationship with a human, and for you an opportunity to live with feelings and emotions like the rest of us.

“It’s a risk, I don’t deny that. But it’s also an opportunity to live, to really live. I’ve seen the way she’s been while she sat at your side waiting, hoping and praying you’d awaken. I’ve seen enough and heard enough to know there’s something about her that’s gotten to you as well.

“You’ve been given an opportunity, a second chance. If you don’t take advantage and see if you two could have something, I believe it will be more and more difficult for you to ever find out for yourself how good it could be. And I don’t think shying away from risk, any risk, is something you would consciously do.

“What you do, of course is up to you. However, you need to realize that if you don’t try and walk away, you’ll be left with a nagging question dogging you for the rest of your life…

“ _What if?_

“I hope you’ll take the chance. Now we’ve kept her outside long enough and I’ve preached at you long enough.”

Dr. Tillman reached for Shaw’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’m glad you made it.”

She turned and walked out of the room.

….

Several minutes went by. Shaw was still hurting, but she was reeling from the doctor’s words and what they implied. Was it possible that her self-diagnosis was incomplete or even incorrect? She recalled researching her ‘disorder’ when she was in high school. Did she deliberately travel down the road to diagnosis of Axis II because it was simpler than confronting the loss of her father?

Root had done something to her, of that there was no doubt. Whether it was as simple as turning the volume _up_ or something much more complicated, there was one fact that kept returning to her mind- the risk of trying with the hacker implied that not trying was, in reality, the coward’s way out.

And Shaw didn’t do cowardly, at least she never had before. And Root was someone she knew she wanted to… to… well at the very least find out more about.

_No, that’s the coward’s answer. You want to try with her, and you’re just a little afraid._

_There, doesn’t that feel better to admit it?_

“Not necessarily.”

“What was that Sweetie?”

Root had returned to the room without Shaw realizing it. Shaw’s thoughts, the last verbalized, were the catalyst to prodding her to open up to the hacker if only to prove to herself that she could overcome her reluctance ( _fear Shaw, it’s fear_ ).

“Nothing, just thinking out loud. But I do have a question for you. _Why_?

“Why did you stay here and refuse to leave?

“Why didn’t you go back to New York and come back once I woke up?

“Why, after months of the cold shoulder, did you do this?”

Root stared at the former doctor. She thought back to the confrontation outside in the hotel parking lot when the Persian firecracker refused to allow anyone to team her with Tomas, then told her that she regretted sleeping with the former jewel thief. She had considered that conversation many times while she waited for her to come out of the coma.

She had thought long and hard about the implications of Shaw’s confession of feelings for her and the way she tried to run from them. She realized that what had occurred in that parking lot was the closest thing possible at the time to an honest baring of her soul and also realized the courage it took for the ex-ISA assassin to do it.

The hacker had decided, if and when she had the opportunity, that she would admit that it was her own feelings that caused her to react the way she did, feelings that she was afraid to admit to for fear of being rejected. Shaw’s declaration that she didn’t do relationships gave Root the opportunity to retreat inside herself, but the tryst with Tomas hurt her more than she would admit, at least at first.

For now though, a simple answer was going to have to suffice since Shaw had already shown signs of going back to sleep.

“It’s complicated, and you’re almost out again. For now, let’s just say the thought of being separated from you was unbearable. And now that I know you’re going to be OK, the thought of ever being separated from you again is even more unbearable.

“I always thought we’d be perfect for each other, but I’d almost lost hope of ever being able to find out.”

Shaw’s eyelids were heavy, and her voice was thick with exhaustion, but her smile, though faint, was genuine. Just before she allowed sleep to claim her she reached for Root’s hand.

“I’d like to find out too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done here, probably one more chapter and an epilogue. Thanks again for the comments- they fuel me.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair comes back to New York and tiptoes around the start of.. something.

“Root, I should have never let you talk me into this.”

Shaw was grumping from a wheelchair the hacker had insisted she use just until they got to the hacker’s apartment and settled in. The trip from Charlotte was bumpy due to a Nor’easter that ran up the coast much later than normal.

By the time they landed, the storm was raging, reminding Shaw of the Weather Channel reports she’d seen from hurricane encounters. Traffic was snarled and by the time they reached Root’s building the pain meds were beginning to wear off and the former doctor was crabbing about everything.

Root just smiled.

“Once we get upstairs you’ll be fine. You know this is the best solution until you’re done with rehab. Your apartment is too small to handle the equipment, and traveling to rehab twice a day is counterproductive. Here you can rehab without leaving the apartment and once you’re ready for outside, the Park is right across the street.”

The driver had pulled into a small side drive in front of a six story brownstone. The place was in a neighborhood that reeked of money and privilege. Shaw looked around the entrance area and shook her head.

“I don’t like the idea of living with you when we haven’t even established the ground rules yet for whatever this is.”

“You’re _not_ living with me Sameen, you’re staying at my place until you’re done rehabbing because it makes sense. Once you are back on your feet, you’re going back to your apartment and we’ll see what happens.”

The hacker pushed the wheelchair inside the elevator, removed a card and inserted it inside a slot at the top of the keypad. An electronic display lit up like a keypad however the numbers weren’t in order. Root punched in six numbers, then the “#” key and the doors slid closed.

Once the doors were completely closed, the hacker pushed the “#” key a second time and the numbers on the display shifted randomly. Root entered six more numbers and pushed the “#” key a third time. The lift began to rise. The hacker looked at Shaw with a faint smile.

“Security is pretty tight in this building. Once you’re cleared to go out, we’ll get you a card and your own private code.”

Shaw frowned.

“I would like at least the illusion of freedom- you’re telling me I’m locked in here with no way to get out until Tillman clears me?”

Root was silent for a moment.

“Would it make you feel better if we got you your own key and code right away?”

Shaw nodded once. Root leaned over and smiled.

“Done. I’ll have once made and security will come up today to get it set up for you and explain how to use it. See, I can be reasonable and responsive to you… when you’re reasonable.”

The hacker was referring to a discussion between the two back in Charlotte, just before the former ISA assassin was to be released. Shaw was balking at some of the restrictions Dr. Tillman had placed on her and Root had swept into her room after speaking with the physician.  
....

She found the Persian firecracker sitting up in bed, arms crossed with a frown painting her face. Root started laughing before the door even closed. Shaw glared at the hacker.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh Sam, you look like a five year old who just got sent to her room. It’s actually a fairly cute look on you. You’d think I had just tased you and handcuffed you to the bed. Dr. Tillman says you’re not happy with some of her protocols for rehab.”

“It’s bullshit, Root. Why do I have to be confined to quarters for the next two weeks no matter how I feel. You are all treating me like I’m a baby.”

“You were shot, Sameen, you almost died. You went into shock from blood loss and had to get seven pints of blood to keep you alive. The blood loss and the shock to your body from the transfusions makes the risk of infection unusually high.

“You need to stay relatively isolated until such time as your body recovers, your immune system adjusts and it’s less likely that you’ll get an infection from something or someone you encounter out there.”

Shaw snorted.

“That’s a load of crap. There will always be people and things out there… you may have noticed I’ve been exposed to life threatening situations before. Like bullets.”

“Sam, you’re just being childish. Would you advise a patient to go out and try to lift fifty pound weights at their job a day after major surgery? You know we’re right and you would have told every patient you’ve ever seen exactly what Dr. Tillman told you.

“Finally, remember, I’m your boss. Don’t make me order you to do this. Cuz I will since it’s for your own good.”

“Fine, but I don’t have to like it.”

....

As the elevator reached the top floor, the doors revealed a spacious entryway with ten foot ceilings. The hacker pushed Shaw into the twenty foot square area and approached a pair of dark wood doors. Once again, Root produced the card, slid it into a slot and, when a red light appeared, she entered several numbers on a keypad.

Then, when the light turned green, the taller woman placed her head in front of a small lens and held her eye open. A red line slid down her face until it reached her cheek where it flickered out. Seconds later, a green light came on and a faint click could be heard. Root opened both doors, then pushed the wheelchair in.

Shaw looked around at the spacious flat, impressed. Hardwood floors, a few pieces of furniture and some paintings set off the living room which flowed into a dining room and kitchen that appeared at least 2000 square feet. There were two doors on the wall to their right as they entered, and at the far end an opening that led to another room or area of the apartment.

To the left was a long wall with a single door set about twenty-five feet from the entry. Another twenty or so feet past the door, the wall ended and there was a large sitting area. Windows took up almost the entire length of the wall of the apartment and even from the front door Shaw could see the view was spectacular.

Central Park lay exposed from one end to the other. Shaw was blown away by the location as she realized an apartment like this had to run in the tens of millions of dollars to purchase. She looked back at her hostess.

“Can you push me over to the window? Or can I get out now and walk?”

When the hacker came around to help her out of the chair, Shaw nodded her thanks then approached the windows. The view from the sixth floor was spectacular, the park spread out below them like a painting, the people enjoying the summer heat adding spice to an already exhilarating landscape that the former doctor thought she could view a long, long time without getting bored.

“How do people afford places like this without the Machine to finance them?”

Root was silent. Shaw looked back over her shoulder.

“What do the others in this building do for a living?”

Silence. Then, as Shaw frowned, the hacker walked over to where they could both see the activity below.

“There are no others in this building. I’m the only resident.”

Shaw’s mouth dropped open.

“What the fuck, Root? The Machine bought you this place and you’re the only resident?”

“It’s complicated Sam.”

Shaw gave the hacker a withering stare.

“So simplify it so even I can understand.”

“It’s not that sweetie… it’s just, well She encouraged me to buy this place, but I bought it with my own money… more or less.”

“Say what?”

Root blushed faintly and smiled.

“I guess we were going to have this conversation eventually. We can talk about it over dinner. I can get us steak from Van’s.”

“I thought I was confined to quarters.”

“They’ll deliver it here. The owner owes TME a favor or two, plus we have had some dinner conferences there in the past. We can get cleaned up, settled in and by the time the food gets here, we can have that talk.”

….

An hour later, Root’s phone buzzed and she tapped it a few times. Five minutes later she headed toward the door and opened it. In the entryway was a silver cart with several dishes, a bottle of Scotch and a bucket of ice. Root rolled the cart in and set the plates on the dining room table.

Shaw went over to the table and sat where Root stood holding the chair for her. She blushed at the treatment but nodded and sat down. Before heading for her chair, the hacker placed one of the dishes in front of her guest and removed the cover.

“I ordered the Porterhouse for Two, mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, onion rings and some cheesecake for dessert.”

Shaw looked over at her host with a slight frown.

“I’m pretty hungry, Root.”

Root threw her head back, laughing.

“Oh sweetie, that’s just for you- I’m having salad.”

“Oh, OK then.”

During the meal, the temporary CEO told her guest more about her past.

“When I was young, my only friend Hannah was kidnapped and murdered. My mom was the town alcoholic and my dad left before I was born. I viewed people as bad code and when my mom died, I emancipated myself out and came here.

“I became a hacker, then after a while a killer for hire. Now understand, I researched my contracts and only accepted the ones who really deserved it. But I killed a half a dozen people during my short career. There’s a young girl you’ll meet that changed my behavior as far as killing people goes, but I gave it up after a few years.

“Hacking and the few contracts I accepted made me millions during the time I was an independent operator, but not nearly enough to afford something like this. Once I became Her conduit, I changed. I realized people weren’t all bad code, that some just made stupid choices, some reacted to their circumstances and some were worth keeping alive and getting to know.

“As I worked for Her, She took care of me. I never had a home during the first few years I was part of this, but after the war ended and Harold left, She convinced me I needed a base of operations rather than crashing at the nearest hotel She would reserve a room in for me every night.

“When I started looking, I realized the several million dollars I had made before as a hacker and killer had grown. While I was working for Her, She was growing my money. When you have an all-seeing AI as your financial advisor, wealth is simple. I suddenly was worth almost a quarter of a billion dollars and owned several corporations, one of which had purchased this building for a very depressed price during one of the periods New York real estate was struggling.

“Now my return on investment averages around fifteen percent annually so even with the expense of keeping up this place, I’m able to live comfortably without taking a salary from TME which only seems fair considering how well She takes care of me.”

Shaw shook her head and remained silent, the fact that her mouth was full of steak having nothing to do with her silence. Root continued.

“TME pays the assets well, but we’re careful not to pay so much that it becomes the reason for their commitment to the Team. We tend to pay about the level that a mid-level corporate manager would get- it allows them a comfortable lifestyle without interfering with the commitment to the mission.”

Shaw, taking a break, interjected a question that had bothered her for a long time… almost from the moment she was recruited.

“Where does TME get it’s revenue? We don’t charge irrelevant numbers for our services and it doesn’t seem like we charge the governments the corporation helps either. So how is this funded?”

Root’s face lit up, reminding her guest of a child getting away with something.

“Oh, the money comes from many places. Initially it was funded from a government grant to fight terrorism, then when Harold put a team together to work irrelevant numbers, he funded it out of his own pocket. But the war with Samaritan changed everything.

“The rebuilding of the Machine and Harold’s absence left a vacuum. Once She was back, I tweaked a couple of her parameters and allowed her to ‘find’ revenue where it was available without taking any from innocents.

“The initial funding for TME 2.0 came from Samaritan’s downfall. It was initially funded by a $150 _billion_ carve out of DOD’s, Justice and the part of Agriculture that includes TSA. When Samaritan fell, well over $50 billion was still available and She took it to get this started.

“While Her financial acumen could probably keep this enterprise going for years without any additional revenue, She is tasked with draining illegal enterprises wherever discovered, initially to weaken them to the point of exposure, then draining the funds when the particular enterprise is taken down.

“For example, an Indonesian drug kingpin had a $15 billion dollar a year income from his control of over seventy percent of the Asian drug trade. She bled off several billion dollars initially to weaken and sow discontent within the organization. Then she pushed the top echelon into a couple of serious blunders and when the organization crashed and was busted by Interpol, she skimmed $30 billion off the top, still leaving billions to be wasted by the international community and governments involved.

“TME’s income just from activities like that approaches $100 billion a year, and our operating budget is just shy of $25 billion a year. Somewhere in the future, revenue and expenses may have to be scrutinized and adjusted, but for now money’s not an issue.”

Shaw shook her head in amazement.

“So you’re not only worth hundreds of millions, but you’re basically in control of an enterprise that is worth more than many small nations. Have you heard the old adage about how power corrupts… and absolute power corrupts absolutely?”

Root smiled at her guest.

“That’s why She’s around, and why we instituted a board of directors that takes a look at everything we do outside dealing with threats and tries to ensure there is no movement toward corruption. Which, while possible, is much easier to deal with than the loss of freedom that would have resulted from Samaritan’s potential reign.

“There are still safeguards that restrict Her abilities to act without accountability, and we are also constantly looking at issues that concern us regarding the way the Machine wields her power.”

Root stood up and began removing the dishes from the table. When they were all back on the cart, she wheeled it to the door and pushed the cart into the entry hall. She then pulled out her phone and pushed a few keys. Then she returned to the table smiling.

“Scotch or cheesecake? We have all night.”

Shaw smirked up at her host.

“I think I’d like a drink right now. Remember, we also have a restraint on the amount of physical activity I can participate in until I see the doctor in five days.”

The hacker smiled at her guest.

“Anticipation’s half the fun.”

And winked… at least Shaw thought it was a wink. It reminded her of an elderly person with gas. Shaw managed not to laugh.

Barely.

….

Later, lying in bed, the former doctor reflected on the conversations the two had engaged in, not only that night but the previous couple of days.

_“Listen Root, I don’t do relationships.. at least I’ve never done one before. I don’t feel like others do and I don’t know if what I can bring to this is enough for you. I’m concerned that someday you’ll realize that you’re being cheated out of a real relationship, one where you get back the feelings you give out.”_

_“Sameen, I knew a lot about you before we even met. I knew the type of person you were and are and it didn’t bother me… in fact it made me more attracted to you. We’re all shapes, Sam, just shapes in the infinite. And you’re the purest shape of all- an arrow, singular focus, perfectly straight… well in some ways… and unchanging._

_“And I wouldn’t want you any other way. It’s the biggest reason I was initially attracted to you. What caused me to retreat away from you wasn’t the idea of you sleeping with Tomas as much as the idea that you would freak out every time you found yourself feeling something, anything._

_“When you showed me you were committed enough to open up to me, first in the SUV when I left for South Africa and then at the hotel in Charlotte, it told me you took us seriously, more seriously than I initially thought. Then I knew it was worth the risk, because I knew I hadn’t misjudged you, that you were that shape, that arrow._

_“Oh and by the way, on the subject of shapes- darlin’ you’ve got a great shape.”_

That was the first time Shaw saw the contortion Root passed off as a wink. She started to laugh, then covered it with a cough.

….

The next day, the conversations continued. While uncomfortable, the former ISA assassin was willing to open up as much as she possibly could. When she asked herself why, the answer was so simple and quick, Shaw was surprised it hadn’t occurred to her before.

_She’s hot, she’s the most competent person you’ve ever met and she’s willing to take what you can give. She knows who you are and what you can give, and she still wants to have something with you._

_She’s right- we are perfect for each other._

“So, my temporary host, boss and future lover… how are we going to do this?”

Root was blushing furiously at the innuendo her guest put into the words _future lover_.

“Well, Sameen, besides me having to get used to raging hormones, I think we should continue to work as we were- you on the relevant side, me doing what I always do. You need some space, I have duties that require me to be all over the world and that alone should help this to get off to a smooth start.

“If it isn’t working for either of us, we can revisit at any time and figure out what will work going forward. Does that work for you?”

Shaw thought about it for a surprisingly short time, then nodded.

“Yes, I think it does. Before I thought you were using your duties on the relevant side as an excuse to stay away from me. Knowing what I do now, I think it’s a good idea, at least initially.”

The hacker noticed her guest blushing.

“Is something wrong, Sameen? You look uncomfortable.”

Shaw took a deep breath. _Here goes, this is going to be hard_.

“So Root, when you leave in the future, do you plan on making any stops in Israel?”

Root stared at her guest for almost a full minute before the light went on. She smiled softly at the former doctor.

“Sameen, are you worried about the Prime Minister? Are you jealous?”

Shaw, who only a few weeks ago would have exploded at anyone asking that question, scowled but stayed in control. She was still blushing, then took a deep breath and brought her eyes up to the hacker.

“Shit, Root, I don’t know if jealous is the right word. Insecure maybe… I never felt anything like this before. I do remember the sinking feeling when I heard the whispers that you and her were fooling around. My biggest concern was ‘how do I compete with someone like that?’.

“Jealousy has never been in my vocabulary, but I did think there was no way I could possibly win if it came down to a contest between the two of us. Hell, Root, she’s the most powerful woman in the world, except for you. Who am I?”

The hacker was speechless… the lump in her throat felt like a bowling ball. Her vision blurred as she tried to swallow and answer. Shaw noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

Finally, the CEO turned and took a bottle of water off the breakfast bar where they had been sitting since the conversation started.

“Oh Sam, you don’t know what that means to me. The last time I was with Adina we didn’t do anything. I drove out to her place thinking I couldn’t keep on with this- it wasn’t fair to her. And the reason it wasn’t fair to her was that I couldn’t get _you_ out of my mind.

“The fact was, _she_ never had a chance. As long as you were in the picture she couldn’t compete and she could never win. Why? Because of all the reasons we talked about last night and back in Charlotte. Because you and I are perfect for each other. Because you have managed to work your way into my head and no matter how I tried I couldn’t get you out.

“The thought that it worries you at all tells me more than any declaration of feelings ever will. And the only time I’ll go to Israel in the future would be if you were by my side. I kind of like to show you off to the Prime Minister, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Shaw just smiled faintly.

“I can do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are at the end, only an epilogue to finish this.. at least this part. I must admit every time I feel like I've finished one of these, I end up feeling a gentle tug, trying to get me to return and continue. We'll see. Epilogue in a few days. Thanks for those who are still around.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Epilogue. Thanks to all who've stayed with this while I figured out where it was going. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Citation X was racing down the runway of the Israeli Air Force Base. Root glanced over at Shaw as the plane lifted off and noticed the former doctor and ISA assassin staring out the window, lost in thought.

“Penny for your thoughts, Sam.”

Shaw turned and stared into the hacker’s eyes.

“I was just thinking about your friend Adina. She’s pretty normal for someone with the responsibilities she has. And I have to admit, in person she’s kind of hot. I can see why some people would go for her.”

Root sensed it in her companion’s voice.

“But?”

“Well, she strikes me as one of those ladies who puts up a dangerous front when she’s flirting, but when you get right down to it, is pretty vanilla, almost prudish in bed. Sorry if that offends you, I know you like her.”

Root stared wide eyed.

“You got that from that short fifteen minute meeting?”

“Her eyes… she was checking both of us out, she still has the hots for you, yet something made her very uncomfortable… like she was trying to imagine us together and was uneasy about what she was seeing.

“I don’t know, Root, it was just a feeling.”

“But Sam, that’s exactly who and what she is, it’s like you looked into her subconscious and figured her out with almost no clues.”

Shaw smiled and shrugged, then turned back to look out the window.

_Maybe it was because I still think of her as my rival and I was paying closer attention than anyone thought._

The pair had landed late the previous evening in Israel and spent the night in a luxury suite in downtown Jerusalem. After showering off the flight and a little relaxing physical activity, they ate a late dinner in their room.

The next morning they were at the Knesset at 0930. Shaw’s Marine and ISA background allowed for her pre-clearance and they were escorted by an old friend, General Isaac Salkov. Root smiled and hugged the General before introducing him to Shaw. As the three descended in the elevator, Root and the General bantered lightly about their previous encounter.

“Any other situation, I would have been concerned that one of your men would accidentally blow my head off, General, but I knew your reputation and your soldiers’ capabilities so I wasn’t too worried.”

“Well, when you called me Rabin, I thought you were some kind of witch. If I hadn’t watched you and that agent disarm the bomb, I would have given serious thought to putting a bullet in you myself.

“By the way, it’s nice to see you in a less stressful situation. Although there are rumblings.”

The hacker looked at him knowingly.

“That’s why we’re here General.”

The meeting with the Prime Minister was short and businesslike, except for the last two minutes. Root briefed the PM on some of the intel the Machine had gathered from sources around the world over the past few days, including threats to observe the 9-11 anniversary with attacks all around the world.

There was one issue that came up briefly that Root had hoped to keep away from for another few months if possible. As they were coming to the end of the 30 minute meeting, the Prime Minister looked at both of her visitors and cleared her throat.

“So, there is a story floating around the intelligence community of a super computer that is powerful and advanced enough to predict attacks on nations and their citizens. I have to ask you in light of the intelligence you’ve brought to my attention today and for the past several months-

“Is there any truth to this rumor?”

Root sat back in her chair, silent. Seconds passed, then she took a breath.

“Madam Prime Minister, there have been several breakthroughs and advancements in intelligence gathering capabilities since 9-11. TME tries to utilize any and all available to assist governments in protecting their country and citizens from any threats.

“I’m sure you understand the necessity for security and confidentiality as to the mechanics of our protocols. And I’m sure you would respect out privacy, as we respect the privacy of your government and intelligence agencies as to the exact details of _your_ protocols.”

The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed slightly, then she smiled and nodded.

“Of course. Thank you for coming to see me, it was a pleasure meeting you, agent Shaw. Root, could I speak to you alone for just a minute before you leave?”

When the hacker nodded, Shaw followed Salkov to the adjoining conference room to wait for Root. As the hacker related to Shaw on the way to the airfield, the conversation was brief and friendly.

_I noticed the looks that passed between you and your asset Agent Shaw, Root. I’ve seen those looks before. I’ve seen them in your eyes when you were in my little nest in the desert, and I’ve had those looks when I’ve seen you._

_I hope the two of you can find happiness together. I must admit, she seems dangerous- which, under the circumstances might be just what you need._

_I just wanted to wish you luck._

Then, just before Root turned to leave, Adina reached out to shake Root’s hand, then drew her in for a chaste kiss on the cheek.

 _I’ll always remember out time together fondly_.

The hacker smiled faintly and nodded, then turned to rejoin Shaw and the General.

Climbing through 10,000 feet and into the clear sky over the Mediterranean, the hacker looked over at Shaw and smiled. Since the former doctor’s rehab had finished, the two had gone back to living at their own apartments, though Shaw was spending more and more nights at the brownstone.

It seemed inevitable that Shaw would move in, yet Root had insisted, when the subject first came up, that she keep her place even if she did decide to move in.

“You need space Sam, I’ve known that from the start. I think, if we decide to live together that won’t change, in fact it might be something that comes up even more frequently. The idea of living with someone could trigger anxiety that some solitude might alleviate.

“Besides, you, make that we can afford it.”

While Shaw continued on the irrelevant side, she spent more and more of her time teaming with Root on relevant threats. As the world seemed to be spinning into more dangerous territory, they had recently began discussing whether or not additional resources would be brought to the relevant side- under Shaw’s direction.

“You’d be perfect to lead them Sam, you understand this stuff better than anyone. Only Reese even approaches you in overall abilities, but he’s much better suited on the irrelevant side. If we decide to build teams to either deal only with relevant threats or even put a team together that bounces back and forth, you need to lead it.”

Shaw was happy with the opportunity to work both sides for the Machine. There always would be the satisfaction of helping someone considered “insignificant or irrelevant”, someone who, without the intervention of their team would be simply another statistic.

But the idea of working relevant threats, being able to be a part of a team that prevented another 9/11, that was something worth everything- including one’s life if it came down to it. The Persian asset didn’t have time to consider her actions when she took down the second terrorist in Charlotte; her only thought was if she didn’t stop him, it was possible that no one could.

One of the conversations she had with Root after the fact was about the expendability of assets in situations like the one they faced.

“Our training for situations like that is that the mission is everything. Whatever it takes, up to and including giving your life to ensure the success of the mission is what you train and prepare for.

“We go into action expecting that moment- the moment it all hinges on us- and expecting that we might very well die and _that is acceptable as long as it results in success._

“When I saw the movement in that car, I didn’t have time to think about anything except killing the target. I didn’t think about my fuck up in missing the obvious- that there had to be two of them. I didn’t think about the possibility that he might be able to detonate the device if I missed.

“All I thought about was stopping him before he stopped you.

“After I knew he was neutralized, I really thought I was dying. And it was OK as long as the mission succeeded.

“You aren’t cut out for this unless you go into each mission knowing it can be your last and embracing that fact.”

Her mindset made her perfect for the relevant side. It also made Root nervous, realizing the former ISA assassin would regularly head into danger with little or no regard for her own safety. She would have to accept the risk to the former doctor and find her own way to deal with that reality.

The hacker had given some thought to the danger the entire team faced regularly and finally realized every member of their team thrived on the danger and all regularly rushed into harm’s way with little or no thought for their own well being.

And, as Shaw pointed out, the CEO was a big reason.

“You waltz into resistance without ever considering the danger to yourself Root. Taking the bullet meant for Finch being the primary example. The people here follow your example and that’s the mark of a real leader.

“We all wish you would consider your own safety once in awhile while realizing that isn’t really in your coding. But we’ll all follow you anywhere.”

As the Citation raced over the Mediterranean Root felt strangely ebullient despite the rumblings of relevant trouble on the horizon. While her relationship with Shaw still had to play out, the fact that there was any relationship had her feeling as good as she had in a long, long time.

The feeling was short-lived as the Machine chose that moment to begin chattering in her ear. As she listened, her smile disappeared and her eyes narrowed as she glanced over at her traveling companion.

“We’ve got an issue. We need to get back to the States immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said in the summary, thanks to you who stayed with this. You'll notice I left it open, the possibility of more adventure in the future. While I think I'm done with this universe, I've learned that my love for these two keeps drawing me back. Thanks for comments and suggestions, it encouraged and helped me.  
> If you want to chat me up, Tumblr- @poideejay.  
> I love you all!


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